In Need & Deed
by ShivaVixen
Summary: "There are friends who pretend to be friends, then there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24. In an Alternate Universe, Spock and Kirk meet as teens, and prove this to be true to Vulcans, Humans, and anyone else in their way.
1. Part 1 point 1

**Some things to clear up (warning, long Author's Note) I am currently laid up because of foot surgery, and one of the movies I've watched is Star Trek: 2009/XI/Reboot or whatever the heck you want to call it. With nothing better to do and my muses for my other stories apparently off on vacation, I started looking up some Star Trek stuff- mainly stuff related to this movie and the original series. Before this, I could honestly say I knew about 5 things about Star Trek, two of which I knew but didn't know where they originally came from.**

**1) 'On a five year mission, boldly going where no one/man has gone before'- a lot of people quote this part in various ways in various movies, but in my case, Gonzo says it in **_**Muppet Treasure Island**_**.**

**2) If you wear a red shirt on Star Trek, you die- need I say more?**

**3) The Vulcan neck pinch- I knew that there was a pressure point in someone's neck you could squeeze and they'd drop like a sack of potatoes, I just didn't know it was called the Vulcan neck pinch until I watched **_**Spaceballs**_**, I always called it the neck grab.**

**4) 'Beam me up, Scotty'- I honestly never knew this was a Star Trek thing. I just knew it was a quote from an old scifi TV show. On that note, I knew there was a Scottish person on Star Trek.**

**5) Vulcan hand greeting- as kids, me and my friends would do this because we'd seen someone else do it. I can actually do it, but I was the only one capable of doing it and holding it for any period of time.**

**So, that said, I was pleasantly surprised when I watched a couple episodes of The Original ST and found out that, yes, some of the acting was goofy at times, (cough**_**shatner**_**cough) but it had actual **_**plot**_** and **_**story lines**_** with **_**believable characters**_** that have actual strengths and weaknesses, and didn't devote itself to who was sleeping with who- seriously, a lot of shows that have promise wreck themselves by focusing on sex lives of the characters, not their exposition or plot. **

**Leading me to my next tangent- the whole Spock and Kirk are T'hy'la thing. Some people write this as slash, (there are people who write it believably, and I can accept their stories- others, on the other hand, I'm left wondering if they just wanted to write slash without any regard for the characters personalities **_**whatsoever**_**, because it honestly looks like they've just cut and pasted from another story and just changed the names, so I'm left needing brain bleach because of the butchering of the characters) which is fine, and then others who write it as really powerful friendship/brotherhood. I have seen entire debates on this subject, and honestly, I'm not going to try joining one side or the other, as all the evidence people use is really, really ambiguous in the grand scheme of things (and kudos to the creators for that). **

**So, for this story, I'm leaning towards the friendship/brotherhood angle. Feel free to read in whatever pairings you, but don't read this expecting me to have Spock and Kirk doing the balcony scene. It won't happen, and my general principle is that unless it is explicitly stated in canon that characters are/have been in a relationship, I won't write them as having one- unless it helps move the story forward, **_**then**_** I might consider to make the exception. However, I'm not a big Romance type of girl (despite the Vixen part of my penname) and generally prefer exploring character friendships and animosities.**

***Timeline note: From what I understand, Spock was 23 when he declined the VSA and joined Starfleet. He's also two years older than Kirk, and so for Kirk to be 25 when he became captain (again, according to my understanding) Kirk must've been around 21 or 22 when he joined Starfleet. I'm leaning towards 22 for Kirk joining Starfleet in the movie timeline. Bones is (at most) ten years older than Kirk (I've heard that he was 35 to Kirk's 25) so (in the movie) he would have joined Starfleet at about age 31/32 (give take a couple months), and at the time of Vulcan's destruction, Joanna is presumably around 5 or 6, so the divorce happened while Joanna was 2/3. Sulu and Uhura I've pegged to be about the same or little younger than Kirk by (at most) a year, though it's quite possible that Uhura is older by a few months, and Chekov . . . he's 17 in the movie, eight years younger than Kirk. So, either he joined Starfleet at 13 or 14, and spent a few years at the academy, or . . . yeah. Finally, Scotty- I've got him pegged to be the same age as Bones, maybe older by a year or two, so he's about 37 in the movie, meaning he was 27 or so when he sent Admiral Archer's poor Beagle into . . . wherever. **

**Enterprise vs. Narada: Stardate . . . (er, someone know this? I don't . . .)**

**Kirk- 25**

**Spock- 27**

**Bones- 35**

**Scotty- 37**

**Uhura- 25(26?)**

**Sulu- 24**

**Chekov- 17**

**That's how I understand the movie ages. For purposes of this story, however, Bones will be eight years older than Kirk, Scotty two years older than bones, Spock two years older than Kirk, Uhura 3 months older than Kirk, Sulu five months younger, and Chekov is 8 years younger than Kirk. As I said before I'm just guessing with the movie timeline, so the ages of the characters in my story are close to it, but not exact. **

**(And this author's note is long enough as it is, so with the last two notes- let's go! Punch it!)**

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><p>"<strong>Alien (xeno) Language translated to Standard<strong>"

"_Foreign (Earth) Language translated to Standard_"

In Need and Deed- Part 1.1

Jim Kirk leaned against the porch rail. At fourteen he was lean and tall, blue eyes piercing and a sharp smile. His Aunt and Uncle had taken him in when his step-father had finally had enough of his reckless ways that had culminated in him driving a car off a cliff.

Though considering that his step-father had pretty much pushed him to raise himself, he really had to wonder who was to blame for his actions, though Jim knew full well that his decisions were his own.

Tarsus IV was practically Iowa- just as a planet, not a state. Plenty of open fields, perfect for farming, though there had been some trouble in the far fields- some minor rot in the plants. He'd been here for over a year and a half, and had felt himself mellow out a bit- His aunt loved him, and his Uncle, while stern, was kind and genuinely cared about what he did. His cousins (both younger than him) looked up at him with wide eyes that spoke of adoration for their older cousin, even with the fights he still got into. It was so different from his Step-father's preference to ignore him and let him fend for himself (the man had never laid a hand on him, but his apathy to Jim's mere existence screamed volumes about how much he cared) and his mother's increasing absences and inability to even meet his eyes, not to mention he hadn't heard from Sam since his older brother had left. He'd listened in amusement as everyone around him called Tarsus IV an agricultural paradise- it was much better than earth, he would agree.

The speeder pulled up, and his uncle gestured for him to help with the bags. Jim walked forward as two strangers got out of the car, one a boy his age, or maybe slightly older, the other a woman with black hair pulled back into a tight french braid. "T'Pre, this is my nephew Jim. Jim, this is the Vulcan Scientist that was supposed to stay with the Greyson's." Jim gave a small nod of acknowledgment, remembering his aunt's brief instruction that Vulcan's preferred not to be touched, and so handshakes were frowned on.

"T'Pre, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you, Jim, this is my cousin, Spock." T'Pre introduced the boy, who gave Jim a polite nod. "He is here to act as my assistant." Jim was very good at reading people, and especially at figuring out how to get under their skin. This teen was as expressionless as the older woman, but there had been a flicker of pain (or something similar, perhaps guilt?) when T'Pre had said 'act as my assistant'. Not to mention that T'Pre looked at him as if he was simply a thing to be catalogued, while the teen- Spock- seemed to be wary of him. Maybe this wouldn't be a big of a pain as it had sounded.

"Alright, I'll bring up your bags to your rooms, then."

* * *

><p>Spock stared out the window of his guest room, feeling the mix of guilt shame and fear that had plagued him since . . . He closed his eyes.<p>

Things had not been going well ever since his first emotional outburst where he had attacked another student in anger, he knew his father was disappointed, and he had rejected his mother's attempts at comfort, because he had to be a Vulcan. At school, things got worse, because by then everyone knew he had responded with violence and their words became harsher and crueler. The Instructor had called his mother when things came to a head and Spock had finally collapsed, ill.

His mother was usually soft-spoken, but until recently he had never heard her shouting at anyone. With her raised voice, she had suddenly become frightening, and the most interesting part was she had been yelling at his father downstairs and he had been sitting upstairs in his room. A day later, in the morning before he had finished eating, his mother had pulled them into a sitting room.

Quite logically, she explained that while she had agreed to raise Spock as a Vulcan, she now believed that there had been a variable that both she and his father had not considered. His human emotions. Humans, like herself, had a different way of dealing with emotions, because suppressing emotions for humans was actually more harmful than finding a way to release- and meditation didn't always work. She pointed out to his father and himself that they were only teaching him half of what he truly was, and such a method would lead to trouble if it was not corrected.

The logic was sound, but his father had already heard this argument, and pointed out that a day and a half ago, she had not had a solution. His mother had given him a quelling look (reminding Spock of a particularly violent _sehlat_) and told him that their cousin, T'Pre, was going to an agricultural colony for study, and her assistant had taken ill. Spock would be able to watch and study how humans acted, while T'Pre would be there to show him how Vulcans interacted with other species and tutor him in his studies. While he was with T'Pre, she and his father would work on a more permanent solution with the council of elders and find a way to stop the young Vulcans from continuing to harass their son.

And so he was here, far away from home, and living with his cousin and a group of humans. He opened his eyes, and watched the young blonde teen that had met them and carried their bags 'play' with the two younger ones. 'Jim' was a nickname, short for James, Mr. Riley had explained. He had said that Jim was sent to them for a bit.

_"He's a good kid, loyal as a guard dog, and just as vicious if you threaten something or someone he wants to protect. Despite the alien population, we've got some humans that don't like non-Terran beings, and have tried to cause trouble harassing the various alien families. When you go out, please take Jim with you, he'll help you out, and make sure that they don't pull anything." _He had said in warning. Spock had seen a strange emotion flicker in the man's eyes, a mix of pride and concern when he spoke about his nephew, and Spock's curiosity had spiked a little when they had actually met Jim.

The other boy had sun-bleached blonde hair that was messy and a little long, brilliant blue eyes that almost matched the sky, and a build and stance that suggested he could not only fight but knew when to run if needed. Jim's eyes were wary and calculating, even as he smiled and greeted them. It was like being introduced to a caged animal- it appeared docile and safe, but there was still the promise that the moment that cage was gone, that animal would tear apart anyone that got too near for safety.

Logically, Spock knew such a comparison was a human method of attempting to explain someone's characteristics, but he could not help but agree that Jim was someone he'd want on his side.

"Dinner's ready, Mr. Spock!" the little child- the youngest Riley- grinned and then rushed off as soon as Spock nodded. He went downstairs and almost walked straight into Jim. Jim backed off slightly, but quickly, surprising Spock. A quick glance at his eyes left him even more puzzled, because the wary calculating look seemed to have increased. There didn't seem to be a reason for Jim to behave thus, given that they had just barely met and had not even exchanged words.

"Apologies, I was not paying attention to where I was going." There was a flicker of emotion, and for a moment, Spock recognized something in the look to be similar to the look of those who had insulted him back on Vulcan, but it vanished.

"Don't apologize, I should have checked to make sure everything was clear." Something that Spock would have called resolve hardened the other's blue eyes, and then Jim was moving past. "C'mon, dining room's this way." Spock followed. "How long are you and your cousin planning to stay on planet?"

"Until her work is done, roughly 423.76 terran days, I believe." Jim glanced at him in some slight amusement, but it was quickly hidden. "If it's not too forward, are you staying with your relatives to help on their farm?"

"They need the help." Jim shrugged. Then he was distracted by his cousins. Spock felt uneasy, sitting at the table, which was filled with the chatter of the two children telling their mother what they did, and T'Pre and Jim's Uncle discussing the schedule.

It was until he settled down to do his nightly meditation that he realized that Jim had not said a word unless spoken too, and sat by himself at one end of the table. Not to mention, he also realized, that Jim had not actually answered his question- he had given a noncommittal answer and then changed the subject by turning his focus on the cousins. (A taboo topic, then, to use one of his mother's more interesting earth phrases.) Spock fell asleep, wondering how he was going to make a treaty between the two of them.

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><p>In the room he now shared with his little cousins, Jim settled down for the night as well.<p>

He stared at the ceiling for a long time, going over his brief interaction with Spock- he'd unnerved the other on accident, he could tell (which had made him briefly annoyed with himself, the point was to try and be friendly to the Vulcan) and their actual attempt at conversation had not gone well; Spock had unintentionally hit the one sore point he had about living here, Jim knew it was unintentional, but he couldn't stop himself from shutting down and pulling away, like he always did.

He fell asleep thinking about how to make friends with the Vulcan- but it wasn't until a couple of days later that the opportunity to do so presented itself.

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><p><strong>Well . . . What do you think? Good? Bad? What should I improve? Should I post the second chapter or just forget about this completely?<strong>

**(Sorry about the long Author's note at the beginning, but I thought I should give you all fair warning that a not-trekkie was going to be writing . . .)**


	2. Part 1 point 2

**Forgot this last time, but considering I came out and told you all I'm new to the whole Trek-verse, I think it's obvious I don't own the rights to it.**

**Thank you to all those who put this story on alert, and especially startrekgirl.m, for sending me the ages of the characters in the movie, as well as the Stardate. For those interested: **

**Enterprise vs Narada happens Stardate 2358**

**Kirk- 25**

**Spock- 28 (I was close!)**

**Bones- 31 (close-ish . . . .)**

**Scotty- 36 (I was off by a year, again)**

**Sulu- 21 ( . . . well, I was right about him being younger than Kirk, at least . . .)**

**Uhura- 19 (Okay, so I was way off with Uhura, but she certainly acted older than Kirk!)**

**Chekov- 17**

**So, with the exception of Sulu and Uhura, I was pretty good with guessing! **

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><p>In Need and Deed- Part 1.2<p>

A few days after they had begun hosting the two Vulcans, Jim glanced in the sitting room out of habit, and saw Spock sitting down in front of an old chess set that his Uncle had (it was only a ancient one level board, but it was good enough for a diversion), staring at the pieces and occasionally starting to reach up to touch the pieces before stopping. "You know how to play Terran Chess?" He saw Spock stiffen and look up, a slightly guilty expression flashing in his eyes before it blanked out like his expression.

"I have some experience with the game." Spock started to stand warily. "If I am not supposed to be here,"

"Would you like to play with me?" Jim cut him off, a little thrilled as the other boy failed to stop the surprised look that crossed his features. Quite honestly, the Vulcans' lack of expressions unnerved him, and he'd been hoping to find a way to talk with them that didn't involve getting brushed off. "My Uncle's a good player, but he rarely has the time, and playing against my cousins is amusing but not a challenge, they don't understand how to play." He explained, seeing the other's indecision.

"I would not be adverse to a game." Spock answered, slowly, as if waiting for something to come and force him to retract that statement. "But would I correct in assuming you and I will be discoursing during this game?"

"I would like to ask you some questions about Vulcans, I don't know much about your culture, so I'm not sure whether or not I'm putting my foot in my mouth when I'm talking to either of you." Jim moved to the chessboard.

"Putting your foot in your mouth? You have not done that at all since we've been here." Spock furrowed his brow slightly.

"It's a human expression; it means I've embarrassed myself and offended the person I'm talking to in some way. I tend to do it a lot."

"Oh. Fascinating." Spock hesitated a moment. "Would you mind if I asked you questions on humans, then?"

"Not at all, but keep in mind I might not be able to answer all of them. Would you like to play white or black?"

Before long, Spock found himself falling into a comfortable routine- Breakfast with T'Pre, Mr. and Mrs. Riley, and occasionally Jim and the cousins (if the three could be bothered to wake up early enough) Lessons with T'Pre, and helping his cousin with her experiments and observations (Jim began tagging along, and T'Pre was impressed by his understanding and began to teach him as well). Then in the afternoon, he and Jim would play chess. Both were good players, and Spock found himself fascinated with Jim's strategy- which tended to look like no strategy at all- as well as their discussions. (Occasionally, these chess sessions were joined by one or two of Jim's relatives and/or T'Pre.)

The two teens had talked about the differences in their cultures, as well as the news they'd heard, advances in technology, and Spock found Jim's knowledge and comprehension of some of the theories that he would refer to in these discussions even more surprising than the realization that he enjoyed the other teen's company. It was pleasurable to have an intellectual equal to discuss things with, and who challenged him with games of wit while playing chess.

"You play an irritating game of chess, Spock."

"Irritating, Jim? I assume that's the human emotion of irritation." Jim had grinned and placed him in check- though it looked more like checkmate, on closer examination.

"Are you sure you don't know what irritation is, Spock?" The look Spock shot him before he returned his focus to the chessboard spoke volumes- Jim was wondering how he had ever thought the other expressionless, because he could read him just fine.

Occasionally, on days when for one reason or another they could not play chess, Spock and Jim would spar- Jim's style was up close and he fought 'dirty' meaning that he was willing to do whatever it took to make sure his opponent was beaten. Spock on the other hand, used the Vulcan style, which was precise strikes to incapacitate- and generally worked best by getting behind or to his opponents side. Jim figured that out, and Spock noticed that he moved to keep Spock in front of him, keeping an eye on his hands. Jim had been rather curious about the Vulcan Neck Pinch, and Spock had shown him the spot and obligingly used it on Jim once, so he could experience it.

"Duration of a victim's incapacitation actually depends on the use of our touch telepathy." Spock explained when Jim came to. "With you, I didn't use my telepathy, but if my opponent was, for example, charged with stimulants, I would use the pinch to deliver a telepathic shock to their nervous system and brain, making them seize and shut down."

"Would it be possible for me to learn it- not with telepathy, obviously." Jim grinned, rubbing his neck.

"Possibly, if you can find and then hit the pressure point with enough force . . . it might help to look up human anatomy." Spock mused.

Two days later, Spock opened his eyes to look at Jim's slightly concerned expression, which change quickly into a relieved grin. "You alright, Spock?"

"Yes," He felt a slight twinge in his neck as he sat up, "I believe that answers the question of whether or not you'd be able to take out a Vulcan." Jim laughed, and Spock's eyes glittered in what to humans would have been amusement.

Days turned into weeks, and Spock found himself spending more and more time with Jim than his cousin, who never spoke to him about it- the one time he apologized, his cousin had shaken her head and told him that the point was for him to learn about humans while still retaining his Vulcan identity, then told him to go with Jim.

Around the time Spock realized his preference for Jim's company, Jim and Spock began to share the room Spock was in (it had been Jim's to begin with). It had started out as Jim being curious to learn meditation, and the first few sessions had ended with Jim falling asleep in the room- he'd been embarrassed but Spock had assured him it wasn't unusual for Vulcan children to fall asleep while learning meditation, either. (Spock kept to himself the fact that most Vulcan children learned by mind-melding with their parents and siblings, thinking that Jim would probably not appreciate him teaching meditation the Vulcan way.) It made things simpler in the long run for Jim to stay the night on a cot (he refused the bed, as Spock was the guest) than for Spock to take the twenty minutes needed to rouse Jim so he could go back to his cousins' room. This made discussions/debates/clarifications on theories easier as well, especially on the rare nights that Jim was unable to fall asleep.

Trips into town had started when they had first moved in, and Jim had always gone with them, but one day Spock had gotten a shock as a human girl, perhaps a year younger than Jim, had come out of nowhere to tackle the blonde in a hug. Jim introduced her as Ruth. Tommy was interested in sciences, in particular molecular replication, and Ruth simply didn't care about anything other than art and was Jim's girlfriend, despite being equally smart. Spock found them interesting, debating theory with Tommy was enjoyable, but he preferred 'hanging out' with just Jim.

Unfortunately, there were others around their age that took offense to Spock's presence around the three human teens, (a gang calling themselves the Swazis) and more than once, Spock found himself following Jim into a brawl that was purely defensive, making sure that Jim wasn't attacked from behind. (T'Pre had not commented on their actions, but she was not disapproving from what Spock could tell.)

According to Ruth, the gang usually focused their energy on Jim because he always got involved when they tried to hurt someone. Take out the sheep dog to get at the sheep. Recently, they had become a lot more violent, and Tommy was not a good fighter, so Jim had never had someone to watch his back. Until Spock started joining in the fights, Jim was usually beaten to a pulp defending her or another alien that couldn't defend his/her/itself from the gang's attention.

When Spock asked, Jim had paused for a moment, before shrugging. "I don't like people that pick on those that won't or can't fight back, Spock. I give them a chance to walk away, but they always choose to throw a punch instead. And if I don't fight back and fight for myself, who will?" Illogically, Spock almost told Jim that he would. But the grin Jim had given him told him that something of the sentiment must have shown in his face.

It was a few days later that Spock just gave up trying to predict Jim Kirk's behavior based on the present. Jim was a lot like his strategy in chess, seemingly random, but actually thinking farther ahead than most.

"Why do you hide your intelligence, Jim?" Spock asked one day, as he took his friend's queen.

"Why do you hide your emotions, Spock?" Jim responded, before making a move, but Spock's attention was on his friend's face.

"On Vulcan, emotional displays are seen as unseemly and frowned upon. But I know humans do not frown upon intelligence, so there should be no logical need to hide it."

" . . . You're right." Jim gave a small smile. "It's a long story, and a bit personal."

"I'd still like to hear it, Jim. I . . . I don't want to sound forward, but I think you and I are friends that can talk. I'd never tell anything you told me to anyone else without your permission." Spock wondered if he had crossed a line for a moment as Jim stared at him, blue eyes pinning him for a long moment. Then his body relaxed (when had he tensed up, anyway?) as Jim smiled.

"Yeah, I think so too." Jim ran a hand through his hair. "My Dad was George Kirk, hero of the Kelvin, I was born during that battle- the stress made my mother- Winona Kirk- go into labor early. My mom and I made it to earth where we were both hospitalized for awhile before moving on with our lives. That's the story everyone hears, a noble man sacrificing himself for 800 people plus his wife and child. What they never hear is that my mother couldn't even hold me for the first two years after dad's death, and her solution to take care of me and my brother was to move in with our step-dad Frank who she married when I was three or so, and then head off to the black for as many missions as possible." Jim sighed, playing with the knight in his hand. "Growing up, all I ever heard was that I looked like my Dad, how great my dad was, how me and my brother were supposed to live up to Dad's reputation- I hated it. My father was dead, my mother was never around because I looked too much like him, and my Step-dad didn't know what to do with me or my brother. Anytime I did something smart, someone would say how like my father I was and how Dad would have been so proud of me." Spock blinked, surprised at the raw emotion he could feel, and realizing that this wound was what Jim had been hiding, even more than his intelligence- his sense of self had been wounded by others' words and their emotions and expectations that they forced on him, but never tried to help him reach their too-high goals.

It was highly illogical to treat a child that way. His own father wished for him to be raised as a Vulcan, adhering to logic without the influence of emotion, but he had always done his best to make sure Spock would be able to reach those goals, breaking them into logical steps of progression.

"So, you stopped showing your intelligence to stop them from saying those things, and chose to use your emotions as a shield to hide your intelligence." Spock summarized. Jim gave a wry smile.

"Yeah, a bit illogical, I know."

"Actually, for you, it seems logical. Much like my need to use logic as a shield and to control my emotions."

"Probably why we get along so well. That's checkmate, Spock." Jim grinned as Spock looked at the chessboard. He had not paid attention to the move his friend had made- in fact, he had stopped thinking of the game as he talked to Jim. In a moment, he saw his mistake. Jim's queen had had him in check, but his removal of it had left his king open to a checkmate.

"Clever strategy- I assumed the queen was the only threat . . ."

"It was the most logical move for you to make, though, as it was the greater threat at that point." Jim gave a small grin. "Good game as always, though." Spock felt the muscles in his face twitch, as if to mimic the smile. He kept them still, but he got the impression something of the almost smile was still obvious to Jim because his smile widened.

If they had known the news they were going to hear the next day, they might have savored the moment.

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><p><strong>Believe it or not, Ruth isn't an OC. She's from the TOS episode of Shore Leave, and all we're told about her is that she was an old girlfriend of Kirk's that he was thinking about. Since we don't know much about her, I figured I'd take some creative license and place her on Tarsus. And those of you that have seen the Conscience of the King episode should recognize Kirk's other friend.<strong>

**Also, while I've seen the episode, I've also read a bunch of TOS fics about Tarsus, as well as the interpretations of what Tarsus IV might have been like for Kirk in the Reboot. (There are some really good ones out there, on that note, I'll try to get ya'll the list of the ones I like). So I've gathered a couple common denominators for use in this fic.**

**See you next chapter!**


	3. Part 1 point 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own Star Trek, I'm just having some fun. **

"_Foreign Earth language translated to Standard._"

"**Alien Language translated to standard**."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'_Telepathic speech._'

_Thoughts._

"Occasionally, _a foreign/alien word_ will be in a sentence."

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><p>In Need and Deed- Part 1.3<p>

"I thought the blight or whatever was only on the outer farms." Jim frowned from where he was leaning against the wall. His Uncle and T'Pre had asked for his Aunt, Spock and him to meet in his Uncle's study rather abruptly.

"It's spread. We're going to have to go easy on the food for a while, until we know for sure how bad the damage is. T'Pre and several scientists are working to figure it out." His Uncle looked more tired than Jim had ever seen him. "But it's not looking good, I'm afraid."

"How bad?"

"If we don't find a solution soon, there is a 93.46 percent chance of all the crops spoiling."

"What about supply deliveries?" Spock spoke up, not liking the look in Jim's eyes at the number his cousin had given.

"The Governor is going to see what he can do, but with the rumors of Romulans and Klingons causing trouble, there's a good chance we won't get them as quick as we'd like."

"So the colony's on its own." Jim clarified, face stern.

"Essentially, yes, it is up to us to find a solution." T'Pre nodded.

"Don't worry about it, Jim, you just take care of your aunt and cousins, I'll be out with T'Pre to, hopefully, figure this out. No one goes out alone, understood?" They all nodded.

Hope hadn't been enough. Within a few more days, the crops were all ruined, and everyone was affected.

Two months later, rumors were flying of conspiracy, that the governor was replaced, or that he'd gone into hiding and had been replaced but it didn't change that whoever was Governor was not fit for governing ("who gave a public announcement that had people panicking?" Jim had growled at Tommy later). It was on all the colony communication frequencies, and played over loudspeakers in the town.

"The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continue existence represents a threat to the well being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony, therefore I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV."

The riot that followed killed several people.

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><p>Spock glanced at Jim's bed as he woke early, and frowned slightly. Jim was sprawled on top of his covers, still in the jeans he had worn the previous day, though his shirt had been removed, and Spock could see his friend's ribs. They had all lost weight, but Spock had never realized how much the humans had been affected- Vulcans were capable of going for long periods of time with minimal food and drink, and while they might lose some body mass, their bodies did not eat at itself unless one had no chance to eat for 33.89 terran days, but humans were not so adapted.<p>

"Spock something wrong?" Jim had woken while he had been thinking.

"I cannot sleep anymore, I did not mean to wake you."

"You didn't, I woke up on my own." Jim got up, grabbing a sleeveless shirt and a red and yellow flannel shirt to wear over it. "Want to go out on the porch?"

"It would be something to do." The two slipped out to the porch in silence (both grabbing jackets), and for a long moment they just watched the sky get lighter. "I heard you got into a fight, yesterday." Jim had accompanied his aunt and T'Pre to try and get some food, while Spock had remained behind, helping Jim's uncle with the family's communication box. Jim had returned with a split lip and a look that was torn between staying and bolting. He'd dispeared during the night, but he had returned not too long after, and Spock had not commented on it.

"The town drunk, apparently he finally realized he needed more than alcohol to survive. People are starting to get desperate- and towns farther out are already desperate. Governor Kodos' _speech_ didn't help, and now everyone's scared." 4,000 people were slated to be executed, once the program Kodos had 'designed' finished its calculations. There was no guarantee either way to whether or not they were on it, but it was pointless to run before they knew for sure that they were actually going to die.

"Do you think the colonists will actually allow the executions?" Surely, the colonists knew that such a plan was illogical- the situation was not as desperate as Kodos made out and they could ration food, it might not be enough to satisfy and only be one meal a day, but they did not have to resort to such extreme measures- it was illogical.

"I think some might." Spock started at Jim's expression and words.

"But it's illogical!"

"Emotions, Spock, they're scared, and when humans get scared, they lash out to protect themselves. It's a survival instinct." Spock nodded, filing that away with the rest of his thoughts and observations on emotions. He glanced at Jim to ask another question, but was cut off by Jim standing, a frown on his face.

"Jim?" He glanced out, and saw a familiar figure rushing up. Jim moved and caught Ruth, who was out of breath and her hair a mess from the running, a child on her back.

"Ruth, what?"

"Soldiers! They're killing all those Kodos has declared unworthy to survive." She sounded slightly hysterical. "Jim, look!" She shoved a padd at him, and Jim took a quick look, face becoming unreadable.

"Spock, Ruth, go wake up everyone, we've got to run, _now_." Spock didn't question the order- it was logical and they didn't have time. Jim grabbed a comm., and Spock winced at the shrill noise that followed, even as he bolted to his cousin's room. That noise would alert Tommy and his family that something was wrong, if they weren't aware of the situation.

Spock and Ruth roused the family and they quickly dressed before heading downstairs to where Jim was moving through the kitchen.

"What's going on?" the youngest cousin asked, only to be hushed. Jim had shoved most of the food he could into three backpacks.

"We need to hurry, if we can get to the speeder-"

"Too late, I can hear them coming." T'Pre moved to the window. "Looks like they're moving to block us in the house."

"Out the back, quick!" The sounds of shots from the Greyson's house echoed in the morning, and the littlest one whimpered, terrified. Spock grabbed one pack, Ruth and Jim the other two. Then they were out the door- and the phasers were impossibly loud as the shots just narrowly missed hitting him. There were shouts, and he could see others from other houses running towards the woods, chased by soldiers, and then- a child, no more than five, fell as four blasts hit it in the back. Logic and emotion completely failed Spock, as he saw people die because some person decided they were worthless. It was only Jim's shouting of his name that made him move, and even then, all he seemed to be capable of was following that voice. Someone gripped his forearm, and a soldier appeared in front of him. In the next moment, he watched as if in slow motion as the soldier raised his gun, and Jim suddenly appeared, attacking the man, and the phaser went off.

"Spock!" Jim grabbed him, and he focused on his friend. "C'mon, we've got to go." Spock managed to nod, absently noting that the soldier was now dead, and the phaser was in Jim's hand. Ruth was there, carrying one of Jim's cousins, Tommy had appeared, also holding onto children- one Andorran, one he didn't recognize- and another little girl that had a death grip on Ruth's free hand. A hand grabbed his, and he knew his control was dismal because all he could do was accept the feelings of _protectrunsurvive_ that crashed into his mind.

They didn't stop running until they made it to the trees, going as deep into the woods as possible. Jim released his hand and Spock struggled to center himself once more.

"What now?" Ruth sobbed softly, "Jim?"

"I don't know, Ruth, but we can't go back."

"What- What do we do?" Ruth hugged the two children she had kept a grip on closer as the little girl asked.

"Jim?" Tommy looked at Jim as well, and Spock saw the slight flicker in Jim's eyes before they hardened. Spock wished he could say or do something, but his logic seemed to have deserted him, and he'd have to meditate to get a grip on himself. He focused on the only clear thought in his mind- _follow Jim_.

"We survive. We look out for each other. There's a cave nearby we can hide in for now, we'll get some rest before we make our next move." Jim looked at everyone. "We've got some food as well, so just be patient, we'll eat once we get to the cave." That was directed to the little ones, and Spock slipped into the back, still trying to get his thoughts back. "Spock." He blinked and looked at Jim, who was now by his side. They had made it to the cave without his noticing, and Jim's jacket and flannel shirt had gone to the kids to act as blankets. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to grab your hand . . ."

"I need to meditate, Jim, my thoughts . . . they're erratic. I cannot . . ." Spock shook his head, seeing the flicker of pain and self-blame in his friend's eyes. "It's not your fault, Jim, but there was no logic to what just happened." Why kill so many people, even children? If the situation was so dire, why hadn't shuttles been used to send families away?

"It's not logic, Spock, but fear, remember what I told you about that?" Spock could barely nod. "We're going to need your logic to survive, so get your head together." Jim gripped Spock's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I already told the others not to bother you, you can go in." That touch was a gesture of comfort and reassurance, similar to what his mother had done, so many times when he had leaned over his desk as a child, unable to solve a question. And illogically, it worked the exact same as it had then, he was able to take a breath and focus, regaining some semblance of center that would hold him until he fell into meditation.

* * *

><p>Jim leaned just inside the cave entrance, staring out into the day. He had no idea what to do, other than survive and make sure his friends and the children did as well. He closed his eyes. His Aunt, Uncle and cousin were dead, his littlest cousin hadn't seen them, Ruth had gotten him in time, but Jim had watched his Aunt and T'Pre go into a practical frenzy to protect the children. He gave a small grim smile. A bit like the frenzy he had gone into, killing the soldier that had aimed his gun at Spock and Tommy. He stared at the phaser in his hand, and barely stopped himself from throwing it away, just like he had stopped himself from throwing the padd away (even after going through to make sure it couldn't be traced or tracked, he still felt like chucking the thing into a tree and burning it).<p>

He'd watched Holovids and read so many stories- all of them claiming that people that killed felt guilty the first time they took a life, before they became desensitized to it.

But right now, he could care less that he had killed that man. The soldier had been willing to kill his friends and baby cousin, and Jim could never allow that. The urge to throw the gun away came from the realization that in a way, he knew what was going through Kodos' head.

Kodos wanted to protect the people he thought worth it to save, and he had convinced his soldiers to kill so they could protect their own. (The orders were practically playing to the soldier's egos- you and your families were meant to survive, so it would be kinder to kill all those not meant to survive to continue your own existence. Just like the damn speech.)

Just like Jim would kill anyone and everyone that tried to harm those he cared about. He looked at the others, a small smile forming at the sight of the four children all curled up together- the red-head little girl wasn't completely human, but he couldn't remember what the name of her species was, at that moment. Most of those on the list had been aliens, and those that lived with or openly had relationships with them. Kodos was apparently xenophobic and blamed the aliens for the plague. Wordlessly, he tucked the phaser into his belt. Well, he wasn't going to let Kodos harm any of the aliens in his care. He'd much rather die.

James Tiberius Kirk was easily genius level by earth standards, he'd raised himself, learned how to survive and fight- and it was going to take every scrap of that to make sure that not only he survived, but the others did too. And if it required him killing someone else to ensure it, then so be it.

What came after surviving, he didn't know, but they'd figure that out- Tommy and Spock were smart, they'd help.

* * *

><p><strong>I find it hard to believe that of the 4,000 that wasn't on the kill list, no one was either aware of Kodos identity or willing to testify and point out Kodos to Starfleet.<strong>

**My answer to that? Kodos was the Governor, but became utterly useless when faced with a crisis. Someone else in the government (Anton Karidan/or another alias) stepped up and did something, taking on Kodos' name- and then got associated with that name evermore- and the body they found burned was the original Kodos, which is why they dropped the investigation. Makes a whole lot more sense to me. Anyone can take this as a challenge, on that note. Have fun, but be sure to PM me if you take it up- I want to see what you come up with. It can be from either the original governor, the one that takes his place, a security guard/soldier that witnesses it or even Lenore's point of view. **


	4. Part 1 point 4

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own the rights to anything Star Trek related. Would be nice though, I'd enjoy writing story lines/scripts if they ever decided to do another Trek show.**

"_Foreign Earth language translated to Standard._"

"**Alien Language translated to standard**."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'_Telepathic speech._'

_Thoughts._

"Occasionally, _a foreign/alien word_ will be in a sentence."

* * *

><p>In Need and Deed- Part 1.4<p>

There were nine settlements or towns on Tarsus IV. The central one where the Governor resided and then nine smaller towns. The central town (called, imaginatively, Tarsus Central City, despite not actually being a city) had roughly a thousand people, and was populated by the first wave of colonists that came to Tarsus. The other nine had a little fewer than 800 each.

Apparently, and according to Jim, who's logic was solid, the five town were selected more for the amount of aliens that lived there than anything else. Indeed, going over the lists on the padd, they found that if there were any aliens in the other towns; they were the first to get killed.

It had just taken time for the soldiers to organize to head to the other towns, that's why they hadn't gotten killed right away. Spock continued with the morbid calculations and tried not to think about the loss of T'Pre. Spock focused back on the present as a hand gently touched his arm. "We're taking a break Spock." Spock nodded at Jim, and glanced around the small clearing they had stopped in.

Surviving on their own was difficult, and Jim kept them moving so the soldiers wouldn't find them, they were awake at night and rested during the day, to make it more difficult. They stole food from the now abandoned houses, as well as medicine- it seemed sickness had followed the plague on the crops.

Logically, Spock knew it was from the deaths of so many, and the fact that Kodos apparently hadn't cared enough to have them buried so that disease could be prevented- decaying flesh, no matter who's was capable of carrying diseases that would infect the living. He absently studied a tree- apparently; the agricultural plaque had affected all plant life, but why now? Was it some sort of passive aggressive defense mechanism of the planet to repel intruders? Had the settlements been too close together? Spock didn't know, but he absently filed the thought under 'things to study.'

Which brought up the subject of Jim. His friend was a natural leader, the traits that made him reckless and his intelligence that he tried to hide, Spock noted, were the same traits that made him take charge when no one else would, to think out plans and protect them. His human emotions were not a hindrance, in this case, but a strength- but Spock could not figure out how Jim did it. Spock's own emotions kept slipping out of his control as he struggled to deal with the shock. For the most part, he kept a tight lid on them, focusing only on the things necessary for survival. He and Jim were technically the oldest, and so the younger ones looked up to them for guidance and assurance, which Spock could not give them, given the cold certainty that it would take an extreme paradigm shift to be sure that a single one of them might survive for help to arrive. He focused on logic and giving advice to Jim, because that was all he could really due at this point. Giving what might have been a termed a 'sigh' by a human, Spock came out of his mediation.

He glanced around their current camp, trying to find Jim to figure out their next move. He then wished he hadn't, because the scene once again threatened to upset his hold on his logic and emotions.

Jim was crouched nearby the andorian- 'Chay' was how he'd introduced himself, but Spock suspected it was his nickname, not his full name- who was curled into a tiny ball and shivering despite being bundled up. Jim was coaxing the little one into eating, and not for the first time, Spock realized that Jim had given up part of his own ration to the little one. There was some logic to that, Chay was sick and much younger than Jim, and so needed more food to get better, but, (as Spock had pointed out, logically, and more than once to his stubborn human friend), because Jim was the one they all relied on to lead, he needed to eat his own food to keep him going so he didn't collapse.

Jim had given him a look that had spoken volumes; he had known that, but at that same time, he could not let a child die.

Such an attitude was inherent in all cultures, Adults and adolescents would rather die than let young ones and infants suffer. On several planets, anyone that killed a child was worthy of the death penalty- and unlike earth and a few other planets, there was no waiting period on those planets between the trial and carrying out of that sentence, it was done immediately, and usually very painfully. (One planet allowed the parents of the child to decide the method of death, and usually they demanded for the murderer to die slow, in the same manner their child was killed- in that same system, there was a planet that allowed the mother of the child to kill the murderer. Spock had to admit there was a certain logic to that idea.)

On Vulcan, to physically harm a child was a crime that was dealt with harshly, and there were records, even after Vulcans embraced logic, of Vulcan parents going into an irrational frenzy to protect their children from threats. One such story (that was almost mythic) had a mother with a young child killing ten invaders because they had decided to eat the child for food. (His mother had read the story, and had told him and his father that Earth women had been known to lift entire vehicles off their children if they were trapped- vehicles that were impossible to lift normally.) So Spock stopped trying to convince Jim not to give up most of his food. Instead, he started sharing his own ration with Jim, whose attempt at protest was cut off with a simple logical statement.

"Vulcans can go 33.78 terran days with little food or water and suffer no ill effects." Jim had studied his face, blue eyes searching for something in his own dark eyes, before he gave a small grim nod and agreed.

Now though, Jim looked like the strain of pushing himself despite the food was going to make him collapse at any moment. And Spock was at a lost as how to get Jim to relax and sleep for awhile, instead of the short naps he took. He wasn't the only one, Tommy had tried to convince Jim to relax and failed.

"How's Chay?" Ruth knelt next to Jim, and Spock pulled himself out of his musings.

"His fever's gone down." Jim sighed, as Chay curled up into his chest. "How are Kevin, Rose and Tiana doing?"

"Ti-lain-ya." Ruth corrected. "They're alright, Tommy's telling them a story." She sighed.

"No luck on figuring out Tilainya's species, then?"

"Nope. Just that it's descended from felines with yellow scales instead of fur that interbred with gecko/monkey hybrids." Ruth leaned against Jim, looking down at the sleeping Chay for a moment. "Thank you, Jim."

"For what?" Jim looked confused, and Spock tilted his head slightly, studying the girl's slight flush.

"For being here, for taking care of us . . ." Ruth met his eyes. "I know you're not comfortable with other people, Jim. I can tell in the way you only ever let us in all the way, just so far, but never far enough for you to actually feel it. In the way you always hid behind masks of foolishness, sarcasm and anger. But the fact you're still here, taking care of us even though you're not comfortable . . . that means a lot to me." Spock blinked. From that statement, he concluded that this was going to become a personal conversation, but he saw no reason to not stop observing the interaction.

"Yeah, well, I'd feel more uncomfortable not taking care of you all." Jim gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Especially you." He smiled, and then stood, picking up Chay.

"I wasn't done talking, Jimmy." Ruth pouted. Jim chuckled.

"Give me a minute to get Chay to Tommy, then, alright?" Ruth nodded and stood up.

"Okay." Spock watched, trying to put together Ruth's motive for talking. She was saying words of gratitude, trying to tell Jim something in a roundabout way that had no logic, and he couldn't quite pick up a theme to her words. Jim returned.

"Alright, so what-" Spock's eyes widened as Ruth kissed Jim, arms wrapping around him. "Ruth?"

"I've always said I never want to have regrets, Jim, and I don't want anything to change that- so please, will you give me what I want? I know it's not the best place, but would you please consider, just this once, Jim?" Spock turned and walked away at that point. He had a feeling that he wouldn't want to see what happened next.

The next evening saw Jim and Ruth a little cleaner than they had been, and Jim was much more relaxed than he had been in a long time. Jim went over to Tommy to talk, and Ruth went over to Spock after checking on the kids.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I figured it would be the best way to get Jim to relax and rest a bit." So his observation had been noticed, then.

"Relaxing and rest to Vulcans is stopping the usage of energy, not using more." Spock retorted. Ruth just smiled.

"I know, it's a bit counter-intuitive, but it works for humans."

"You do realize that there was the chance of pregnancy?" Ruth shook her head.

"No, because of the lack of food, my body is unable to be fertile right now." Spock's eyebrow arched, and she smiled again. "It's a human biological safeguard, to protect the possible child and myself. Without enough nutrients, the baby wouldn't develop properly, and I would probably be ill. So I can keep doing this to keep Jim from running himself into the ground. Unfortunately, he's stubborn, so it won't happen again for a while- and we can't risk being completely senseless so much as I would like."

" . . ." Spock nodded.

"On that note, I think I should thank you." Spock looked at her confused. "You've been looking out for Jim, too, I've seen you slip him your food when he gives up his own. I know Vulcans don't do gratitude, but thank you, Spock, for taking care of him."

"He's the only one that is able to make sure we survive, Ruth, it would be illogical for me not to." She just smiled again, a similar smile to the one that she had given Jim, but this had no flush accompanying it, so she was not trying to flirt with him.

After that, however, the two were often seen sharing glances whenever it looked like Jim might have lost his mind. Spock providing, as best he could, logic and an unattached view, as well as intellectual distraction with words and logical arguments, and Ruth provided physical and emotional comfort, for times when Jim needed someone to hold him when his choices didn't seem to be working.

Hiding during the day and moving only at night while all but starving and occasionally sick made time become meaningless. Every night was a struggle for survival, and even Spock stopped trying to keep track. There was no point. The eight of them stuck together, and occasionally they would find other children that had fled to survive, saved by their parents. Some of the children would join, others would choose to continue to be on their own. A few tried to kill the group, hunger and illness driving them mad, and those were the ones that haunted the older children- especially Jim, because he still had the Phaser, and he was the one that had to pull the trigger- and 'stun' didn't always work, either. The first time, Tommy hadn't understood, and Spock had to assure Jim that it had been the logical thing to do, while Ruth had held him and assured him she wouldn't leave. Tommy had come around the next day, when he killed a lone soldier that tried to kill one of the children. After that, the morality of their actions was never brought up again.

They did everything they could, but not all of the children survived- several died from being sick, a couple, who had probably been on the farms that had first been hit by the plague, had died from malnutrition and lack of food. Through it all, Rose, Tilainya, Chay and Kevin were the four children that stuck like glue to the four older kids- refusing to run and hide even when told to.

* * *

><p>There was no way of telling how long it had been, but one gray morning, Jim and Spock had slipped back to their old town to find more medicine. There was no one out and about, and Jim (who was able to pick locks and hotwire electronic ones, but never admitted to how he was able to do so) had slipped into a house that had been abandoned for a while. Spock kept a lookout, but couldn't bring himself to look at the deserted town square. His attention was caught by a poster- it was old and had been torn more than once, but someone had stubbornly kept tapping it together. '<strong>Never Forget<strong>' was written in bold red letters, and there were pictures (someone must've spent a fortune on finding an old film camera, or there was an artist) of the bodies of the victims in the piles they'd been tossed in- most of the pictures were torn and tapped back together to the point it was impossible to make out any details, but one on the bottom right corner had survived with only two tears to be tapped.

He never should have looked at it. Because he recognized T'Pre and Jim's cousin who hadn't made it, in the mostly intact picture on the poster. "Spock. We've got to go-oh." Jim had come up but Spock was fixated on the picture, despite himself. "C'mon Spock." Once again, Jim had to grab his forearm and pull him out of the town before they got caught. "Spock? Spock?" Jim shook his shoulders, and Spock had time to think that if he was human he'd be crying right then. Vulcans didn't cry because that was a waste of water necessary for survival.

"Jim . . ." The logic he had been focusing on had never been as strong as it had once been, before so many had died. He just couldn't keep trying to hold onto it, it was slipping through his hold, even the logic of _follow Jim to survive_, had started to strain to the breaking point, and was getting ready to give under it. Part of his difficulty came because he no longer had any close family bonds on the planet- T'Pre was dead, and Vulcan was so far away that even though he knew the bonds were still there he couldn't feel anything from them. The other part was because his mental barriers were weakened considerably, he was constantly bombarded by other's emotions, which compromised his own and created a vicious cycle that wore them down as fast as he tried to fix them. But the words to explain this were lodged in his throat as his shields threatened to shatter.

"Spock, what's wrong?"

Spock just didn't have anything to hold onto, and what was worse was that he knew that Jim and the others still needed him- but even that logical thought wasn't enough to hold onto anymore, and the emotions that had been boiling and seething in him were threatening to consume. "I can't . . . can't, Jim . . . control my emotions, not anymore."

"Spock, what do you mean?" His friend's confusion made him illogically angry.

"I don't know how to deal with emotions without my logic, Jim!" Spock snapped, shoving Jim weakly, but the anger fled with the words. "I don't have any more logic to hold onto- the emotions are too much and I can't . . ." He shook his head in despair. "I can't do this anymore- I don't have a bond to hold onto- I can't feel my family bonds because they're too far, and T'Pre's dead." A sob escaped him.

"So you need a mind to hold onto, is that it?" Jim demanded, shaking him a little when he didn't respond. "You can use me, Spock, you can use my mind."

"Jim, I'm half Vulcan, I need logic."

"You're also half human, Spock, and guess what, I'm a human that knows how to deal with emotions. I can help you deal with them!" Spock blinked, staring at Jim with wide eyes, even as the human's eyes narrowed. "Damnit, Spock, I need you to help me protect the others, if the price of that is having a mental link to you, I accept, because I'm your friend and I like the way you think!"

"Jim, I wouldn't be able to break the link if I made it, and it might hurt us both-"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. There are people I wouldn't want to have in my head, and you are nowhere on that list." Jim snapped, forcing Spock to look at him. "You taught me meditation, remember? I'm probably the best chance you've got." The grip on his shoulders had tightened, but Spock didn't notice, staring into determined blue eyes.

Spock's mind was in turmoil at this point, unable to comprehend everything, but a part of him still knew that Jim was right; it would be better to link to someone he knew and could trust. Jim's emotions were steady compared to everyone else's, even now. Without speaking, he put his fingers to Jim's psi points and in the next moment, their minds collided, just as Spock's emotions finally surged, attempting to overwhelm him like a tidal wave. Spock almost slipped under, into the whirlpool of chaotic and contradictory emotions that would consume him.

Spock felt someone grabbed him, holding him steady. '_Focus, Spock, change anger and fear to determination to survive, despair into thoughts about how to survive. You've suppressed your emotions, not dealt with them, that's why you're losing control.'_

_An illogical statement_, some part of him protested. '_I'm Vulcan, I do not feel'._

'_Not the time for that, Spock, I'm in your head, I know you can feel. You have to deal with your emotions, not ignore them'._ In their minds, it took hours to finally get Spock back into control, helping him regain his logic and deal with the emotional turmoil- for both of them, actually, because Jim was just as emotionally compromised as Spock, he was just dealing with it better, because of Spock and Ruth's support. In reality, it only took about 30 seconds.

"Better?" Jim asked as Spock opened his eyes and pulled away.

"Yes, Jim." It was much better, and the two started walking again. "I'm going to need to meditate, later, to 'tidy up'; I believe is the human expression?"

"Yes, Spock, and I'll make sure the others don't bother you." Jim smiled.

The idea of having a mind link to someone wasn't scary to the Iowa farm boy. In fact, it sounded like a good thing. Jim had grown up, first ignored by his mother, neglected by his step-father, then abandoned by his brother and avoided at school because he was too different compared to all the other kids- smart to the point school was boring and he needed to do something to avoid the boredom. He'd fallen into the trouble maker's crowd, which, while not actually being friends he could count on, had temporarily patched up the need for someone to understand him. Ruth was nice, but she didn't always follw his thoughts. He and Spock had talked a lot, and he enjoyed the other's sense of humor, (Yes, Spock had it, it was very, very dry and occasionally sarcastic, but it still existed, and Jim could tell), and it had been nice to find the one person in the universe that understood what it was like to be an outsider among your own species. Having a connection to someone like that, before Spock actually reached out to him, was nice. And Jim would do most anything to keep it, so he wouldn't have to be alone, ever again. His thoughts were interrupted as he coughed slightly.

* * *

><p>Spock felt a little . . . unsettled as he began his meditation. There had already been a small bond between him and Jim when he'd connected to the other. Even considering that Jim had grabbed his hand to pull him when the soldiers first came after them, and had done so for an uncertain amount of distance, there had not been enough mind to mind contact, or even tactile contact on that note, for such a thing to occur. He had spent a lot of time with Jim, that was true, but Jim was Psi Null (he said so himself), and so unlike the bonds between Vulcan family members or friends, it would have required Spock to have held his hand more than once in the time they had been friends, as well as<em> melded <em>with him several times, and that had never happened. Accidental brushes wouldn't have counted- there had only been two instances, and the contact had been too brief for anything to have happened, even if Jim had been another Vulcan.

Which left a possibility almost too strange to be true. It was almost unheard of even between Vulcans, let alone between a Vulcan and Non-Vulcan species. _T'hy'la._ An inante connection between two minds that were similar. In Terran languages, the three words that could best define it were friend, brother, and, well, lover.

Well, Jim certainly was his friend, easily his best friend, and that had developed over Chess, studying and conversations, Jim even joining him and T'Pre for lessons, and following their tangents with minimal, practically negligent, difficulty. And even with his friend's emotional nature, Spock would have been honored to call him brother. He'd easily have no qualms dying to preserve Jim's life, and he knew that Jim would do the same for him. Going through what could easily and accurately called 'hell' with him these past few, weeks?, months?, had done quite a lot in that regard.

The third Terran word, lover, was what might confuse Jim if he had to explain the concept of T'hy'la. Most humans automatically jumped to sexual intercourse when that word was used, but the concept of T'hy'la was not a concept of mating. True, there had been records of cases where those that were T'hy'la became mates, but that was usually between opposite genders, for most, the bond of T'hy'la would be the same as the bond between Terran Twins that were able to sense each other's well being. 'Lover' as in someone who's mind and soul were compatible to another's, and not usually in sexual ways, but in terms of beliefs, opinions and goals, one who loved and was loved in return. Those with T'hy'la bonds could and occasionally were married to others, but they always stayed in close contact, going to each other if a difficulty arose that their spouses, who despite their own bond and type of closeness, were unable to help them fix.

Quite simply, a T'hy'la bond was there to preserve the lives of the two, keeping them balanced in ways that no one else could possibly understand without having such a bond themselves.

That honestly didn't sound too bad to Spock either. T'hy'la bonds were rare and considered as precious as mating bonds- but no T'hy'la bond was ever severed like mating bonds were on occasion, it was a taboo to do so, because the minds were so compatible the healers might not be able to distinguish where one mind ended and another one began, unlike in a mating bond, where the spouses might not have compatible minds and it would be better to disconnect them. Any future spouse of his would be understanding of the fact that if Jim was in trouble, Spock would go to help him (and hopefully, that future spouse would like Jim enough to come and help as well). The only problem might be the elders, but given the rarity of T'hy'la bonds forming among Vulcans, the fact that Spock was able to form one with a human would be cause for curiosity and research- they'd leave it alone. He opened his eyes as he came out of the meditation. Now he'd just have to ask Jim if he would be alright if they melded again, it would simpler to explain everything in the long run, and Spock would be better able to help Jim put up shields and teach his friend how to separate their thoughts so he wouldn't be overwhelmed by Spock's mind (not that there was the danger of that occurring, it was more likely that Spock would get overwhelmed by the pure energy that was Jim Kirk).

The bond proved to be well worth it, despite Spock's previous doubts. Jim became sick the next day (because once again, he hadn't been eating enough, and had given all of his food to several of the younger ones), and if Spock hadn't had his mind in order before, he would have been a wreck at the logical probability (3.9987 to 1) of Jim dying. As it was, he rarely left Jim's side (at one point, he even melded to guide Jim in the Vulcan healing trance, because any chance, no matter how slim, was worth the risk), but he was able to keep everyone together while Jim was out. (It was a near thing, Ruth and Kevin became rather emotional and Tommy got annoyed at him because he wasn't comforting with his words- he had to remind them that Vulcan's didn't do comforting, and Jim did, which was why he was trying to get Jim back to health.) Jim recovered a week later, though Spock was sure that by this point the only reason Jim hadn't given up on surviving was because of the bond. Until Jim regained his strength, though, Spock melded with him, trying to get them both used to dealing with the sense of the other.

'_You were reckless, you know.' _Spock 'sighed' mentally as Jim showed him all the trouble he got into that lead him up to being sent to Tarsus. '_Though I think I should be glad you didn't go over that cliff with the car.'_

'_I know I was, but they didn't even care about that . . .' _Jim responded, some of the bitterness remembered tingeing his words. '_They just sent me away- Mom didn't even use a visual comm. she just used audio. I heard her complain to Frank that I was too much trouble to deal with.'_ Spock gently reached out, sending a small pulse of comfort. '_So, how'd you get sent here?'_

'_I'm too emotional for a Vulcan.' _Spock showed the memory of the other children taunting him, and was shocked at Jim's anger. '_Jim?'_

'_Let me get this straight, Vulcans- who claim prejudice is illogical- didn't correct their illogical behavior, and blamed it all on you?'_ Spock had never thought of it like that, and Jim pointed out the incorrect behavior that everyone else displayed. '_At least your mother has sense.'_ He added.

'_You would think that, as your both human.'_

'_You're half human, Spock, but if you want to just be a Vulcan, I'm more than happy to beat up or tick off the people that bother you.'_ Jim offered, and Spock sighed. '_But I think I've figured out why we were able to connect like this.'_

'_Oh?'_

'_We're both outsiders, even on our home planets.'_ Old emotions of loneliness and want/need of someone who could/would understand and stay followed that thought.

'_Not exactly logical, but it is sound.'_ Spock nodded.

'_Thanks, I think . . .'_

Unfortunately, not all thoughts were good ones- despite Jim's ability to keep what he was thinking from everyone else, and even the ability to bury his emotions so Spock couldn't feel them- Spock felt it when Jim stressed that there was nothing he could do, that he couldn't fix what was happening, even though he knew it was out of his control.

"Jim, you do know that statistically, the odds of our survival for a week were about 7, 228 to 1 when we started." Spock felt a little relieved when Jim blinked and looked over at him as he sat down next to his friend. "In fact, with the calculations for our continued survival after that, the odds became increasingly unfavorable, yet we've managed to avoid the statistics."

"What's your point, Spock?"

"To put it simply, we've survived this long because of you, Jim. And as long as you keep going, we'll follow." At that moment, Tilainya rushed over to climb onto Jim's lap, a habit she had developed over their time together. There didn't seem to be a reason for it- she would just go to Jim and cuddle for a few minutes before going back to where the other children were grouped together. She didn't explain either, though it could be because she had a limited knowledge of standard. (Spock didn't quite buy that, as she could be quite talkative to the other children and even Jim on occasion- he suspected it had something to do with Tilainya's culture, it was probably one where, for the most part, children did not speak to the adults unless spoken to.) And the only explanation they had gotten was that Jim was 'Chu-chu-ru' or something similar sounding to that, and she just tightened her grip if Jim tried to pull her off before she was ready to leave on her own.

This time, however, was an anomaly. She was followed by Kevin, then Chay, Rose and Ruth. Tommy and several of the other children joined them as well. In no time at all, they were all in a huddle. No one protested, no one asked what they were doing- for most, they were just tired, emotionally, there was nothing left but the reassurance that they weren't alone, trying to survive without help on a planet that had gone from paradise to hell in a short time. Spock let Jim lean against him, and fell into meditation, gaining some small measure of strength and comfort from the huddle, which he passed to Jim through their bond.

'_Thanks, Spock, I wouldn't know how I'd manage without you._' Jim 'muttered' back, sending his gratitude.

'_Most likely as illogically and impulsively as ever, Jim._' Spock felt Jim's amusement. '_You're not alone, Jim, you never will be, I'll make sure of that, so you don't have to fear it anymore._'

'_All humans fear being alone, Spock, in my case, it was more a fear of dying, alone (unloved) and forgotten. Though, with this, I guess I don't have to worry._' Jim 'smiled' brightly. '_You know the same is true for me- I don't care if you're more Vulcan or Human, you'll always have a place with me._'

'_Thank you, T'hy'la._' And suddenly, no more words or explanations were needed. In the middle of a world gone to hell, they were suddenly at peace. It would shatter come time for them to find a new camp, but for right now . . .

It was enough.

* * *

><p><strong>Same for this chapter. See you around! (oh, and there's going to be a view change next chapter, as well as a couple of other characters insisted on being included.) Please leave a review- I accept anonymous reviews, as long as their constructive, so you don't even have to log in!<strong>


	5. Part 1 point 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything regarding Star Trek.**

"_Foreign Earth language translated to Standard._"

"**Alien Language translated to standard**."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'_Telepathic speech._'

_Thoughts._

"Occasionally, _a foreign/alien word_ will be in a sentence."

* * *

><p>In Need and Deed- Part 1.5<p>

Light years away from Tarsus IV, but enroute, Sarek was once again impressed by his wife's tenacity. She'd managed to get them aboard the relief ship, the constellation class _USS Porthos_, under Admiral Archer, that was going out to help Tarsus. There was something to be said about the force of nature that was a human mother's love for her offspring.

Namely, it was illogical to do anything other than comply if one valued their health and marriage.

"Ambassador." Admiral Archer came up to him on the observation deck.

"Admiral." He returned his nod. "I apologize if my wife offended you."

"Quite frankly ambassador, I thought her emotions understandable, given the situation, humans do not like their children anywhere near danger." The Admiral sighed. "The last ship in this sector was the _USS_ _Endeavor_, under Captain April, he was supposed to get relief supplies to the colonies- but Klingons interfered and destroyed the ship. We had to deal with them, before we could refocus on the colony. It's no excuse, but Komack doesn't see it that way." Archer sighed. "After the attack on the _Kelvin_, we've been spread too thin, Klingons and Romulans both testing defenses."

"I understand, Admiral, I understand all too well." Even on Vulcan, simple things, important things, could be overlooked. No man or Vulcan was infallible. "How soon until we reach the colony?"

"Not long. I'll have my yeoman bring you and your wife up on the bridge when we enter the system."

It seemed an impossibly long time later until they were brought onto the bridge, Amanda had his forearm in a death grip.

"No response from the colony, sir, there was an ion storm in the sector, so they might have been wrecked."

"Try this comm. number." Amanda rattled off the digits, and Sarek tried to send some reassurance over their bond.

"That's a personal comm.." the officer looked at him, concerned.

"Try it, lieutenant. It might have survived." Archer looked just as tense as Amanda. "When you get it, make it so we can hear, please."

"Yes sir." There was another tense moment. "Sir, I've got it!"

"Spock, son of Sarek, this is Admiral Archer of Starfleet, can you hear me?" Archer addressed the comm. for a long moment, the bridge held their breath.

"Admiral . . . Starfleet?" Amanda started to weep, and it was only his Vulcan control that kept Sarek from following his wife. That was their son's voice. "Starfleet is here?" Sarek frowned, something was wrong.

"Yes, Son, Your mother and I are here as well, we're coming to get you." Sarek addressed the comm..

"Father, mother-" There was a definite hitch in his voice, and a soft rustle of fabric.

"For claiming to be unemotional, you have a lot of emotional overloads, Spock, sit and get your focus back." Another voice- young, tired, but strong- took over. "Admiral, can you receive any files we send? Audio, words, etc.?"

"Yes, we can, who is this?"

"Name's Jim. Two files are being sent, open them, immediately. Things are a lot worse than I think you realize, sir." Archer stared at his padd, and then paled. A split second later, the audio filled the bridge. Even the pilot, who's skin was a pitch black that Sarek had never seen before on earth humans, turned as white as Archer as they listened.

"Christ, how many dead?"

"Dunno, sir." Jim's tired voice responded. "Most of the adults on the list are definitely dead, though, My group's got about twenty in all, and we're the largest group. Rest are in packs between three and ten."

"What's your status?"

" . . . Shit, to be perfectly blunt, Admiral. We've got three sick and we just ran out of medicine, two injured-"

"-Three." Spock's voice returned. "You're injured too, Jim."

"It's a scratch, we've been over this." Archer almost wanted to smile at that, it wasn't funny in the slightest, but it sounded eerily similar to the arguments he heard when one of his men were wounded and too stubborn to go to sickbay. "The rest of us are starving. We were about to go and get some food and try to get medicine too."

"Where would you get that, Laddie?" Admiral Archer raised his eyebrow at the young man with a thick Scottish accent at the engineering station called out- Ensign Scott, he remembered.

"Lots of places- how long till you get here?"

"Four hours, son." They'd be at the planet by two, but it would take time to get everything ready and to secure the colony. "Keep this comm. open, so we can locate you quickly."

"We'll still have to make the run- goddamnit!" There was the sound of rustling and hissed words that they couldn't make out, then things went silent for a moment.

"Jim! Spock!"

"Connection's still there, sir!" Ensign Scott came over while the communications officer nearly had a panic attack. He displaced her, and Archer didn't say a word.

"Hello?" A little girl's voice answered.

"Hello, Lass, I'm Ensign Scott, everything alright over there?"

"Soldiers got too close. Jim n' Spock had to go with a couple older kids to lead them away." The little girl replied. "Jim said I had to keep talking."

"I see, lassie, what's your name?"

"Roseanna, I like Rose, though. It's too long of a name, never fits on my nametag."

"Fair enough, Rose, my full name's Montgomery, and I prefer Monty." Scott grinned. "How have you been holding up? Jim said you've got some sickness going around, could you tell me who?"

"Yeah, Chay's sick again. He's no fun when he's sick, and he's been getting sick a lot more often. Tilainya and me aren't sick though, we haven't gotten sick at all. Spock says it's our immune systems."

"I see, who else is sick?"

"Todd's sick. He's the littlest one, Jim says he's just a toddler, so we call him Todd." She hummed a little. "Ruthie's watching him, him and Tommy."

"Tommy sick too?"

"No, Tommy's injured- a soldier shot him, with a strange phaser, Jim said it was a plasma rifle, but with weak plasma. He's not getting better, but he's sleeping and not thrashing around." Rose's innocent little voice saying those things was making Archer want to cry- his communications officer was crying, and Amanda had tears streaming down her face though she didn't sob. "He's the one they need medicine for. Jim let Tommy take his share of medicine, but we still need more."

"I see. So Jim's your leader, then Rose?"

"Uh-huh, Spock's second in command! We got them to play starship with us yesterday! They normally don't play with us, but yesterday Jim was the Captain and Spock was the First Officer."

"I see, what were you, then?"

"Chief engineer! I got the engines to go at Warp eleven, and we beat the klingons!"

"Warp eleven, eh, how'd you do that? Starships only go up to warp nine." Archer made a mental reminder to talk to Ensign Scott and remind him that children's games were not always feasible in real life- he really didn't like the gleam in the engineer's eyes.

"Daddy told me that if you divert enough power to the warp core, you could make the engines faster, Spock said we'd have to divert the power from at least two decks to do it, so Jim gave the order to clear a couple decks and to seal them off before we did it!" Rose explained. "Daddy works in Starfleet on a ship, but mommy got mad at him and made me come here with her- but daddy didn't do anything wrong."

"What's your dad's name? I might be able to find him."

"Daddy."

"What do other people call your daddy?"

"Umm . . . Clif, I think."

"And what's your surname, Rose?"

"Sure-name?"

"Your last name, like how I'm Montgomery Scott."

"Oh." She told him. Scott's mouth dropped open.

"Well, lass, I donnae have to search for your father- he's my bunkmate! I didnae realize . . ."

"You work with Daddy? Is he there?"

"No, I'm on the bridge, he's in the engine room- it'll take a few minutes to get him here, do you want to speak with him?"

"Um . . . mommy would be unhappy if she found out I talked to him . . ."

"Well, we won't upset your mother just yet, then." Scott turned around. "Sir?"

"I think we can put him in the transporter room." Archer nodded, and sent the now useless communications officer off to find Rose's dad.

"So, Rose, tell me more about your group? Jim and Spock lead, Ruth looks over the sick, Tommy's injured and you've got some sick . . ."

"Didja tell him Jim and Spock are awesome?" A boy's voice joined the comm.. "And is Spock's mother really there? Is she really human? Spock always says he's a Vulcan, but Jim always corrects him, saying he's half human too . . ."

"Yes, I'm Spock's mother, you can call me Mrs. Amanda, and I'm human as they've come, who's this?"

"That's Kevin. He's Jim's cousin."

"Alright, before you get off on another tangent, could you give us a list of names in your group, first and last, so we can start locating your families?" Archer cut in, quickly.

"Oh, I can do that. Jim's name is James Kirk. I'm his cousin, Kevin Riley, There's Chay, he's andorian, but we don't know if that's his real name or not, Tilainya, she doesn't have a last name . . ." As Kevin listed off the names, Archer all but sank into his chair and closed his eyes.

James Kirk was on the planet, 4,000, give or take, were dead because a governor got delusions . . . the press would have a field day if they found out that the Kelvin Baby went through hell on Tarsus. He knew Winona Kirk- he'd been her mentor, when she'd been in the academy. He'd known that she couldn't handle being on planet, knew that George's death had changed her- and he had known that Sammy had run away and James had been causing all sorts of reckless trouble that she hadn't even cared about- "He's doing it for attention, he'll stop if I ignore it- he needs to grow up and start acting his age." She'd told him, when he'd asked how James was doing. "Arrogant and attention seeking, nothing like George."- and she'd mentioned that she'd sent him to his Aunt and Uncle, because there was nothing she could do to straighten him out.

She'd sent him to Tarsus IV. Alone. He rubbed his eyes. Well, if she wanted to have him grow up, she got her wish. He'd handle contacting her personally.

"So, what's Jim like?"

"He's big and strong, and he gives us extra food sometimes, he says it's cause we're little and we need to eat more. Spock's his best friend, though and they go everywhere together. Spock talks funny, he uses a lot of big words. He tried to teach us math, but Only Kev and I liked it." Rose explained. Kevin finished listing the names, but the list didn't help much- he didn't know a lot of last names, and some names were clearly nicknames for ones he couldn't pronounce. "Didja know Vulcans are touch telepaths?"

"Really?" Ensign Scott winked, signaling that he was just letting Rose talk.

"Uh-huh. We can't get near him when he does the mediation thing, Jim says he needs the time to reboot, like a computer." She giggled. "Spock and Jim like to debate a lot- did you know that's different from arguing? It's not mean at all. And sometimes, Jim joins him in mediation- Spock said Jim's his focus since he doesn't have another Vulcan to help him. I dunno what it mean, but Jim says it's a good thing until Spock can get to a healer." Sarek's eyebrow rose.

A focus meant a lot of things to a Vulcan, but it was primarily something, an object, a person, a plant or even a pet, that was considered a 'neutral' point so one could focus and regain their balance in their mind and their control.

'Neutral' being the key word. If the focus had strong emotions that they could not control, there was a chance that the Vulcan would lose their own control. Either James Kirk had exceptional emotional control, a miracle given the situation, or Spock's own control had degraded to the point where it no longer mattered and James Kirk was the only thing keeping him sane. Hesitantly, Sarek gently felt for the bond that was his son. It was still a little strained, but it would be enough to ascertain his son's emotional state- which was just exhaustion, focus on survival, hope . . . and trust? Sarek's brow furrowed slightly, trying to figure out his son's emotions. There almost seemed to be a lack of emotions, compared to the usually volatile ones of frustration and confusion his son normally felt in his presence.

He was going to have to sit down with his wife and Son and meditate as a family, something they hadn't done in a long time, to figure out the damage done to his son.

"-And the left side of his head got hit, so Spock carried him back." Sarek felt Amanda's grip tighten even more, if such a thing was possible, she was all but shaking, and refocused on the conversation. "Jim said he got the one that did it."

"Got the one?"

"Yeah, he didn't have much choice, cause the guy was really determined to kill Tommy. It happens sometimes, Jim doesn't like it, but he says it's the only sure way he knows they won't hurt us. Sometimes he gets really sick afterwards, and Ruth or Spock always stay near him when it happens. Even Spock says it's a logical solution when you can't incapacitate an opponent seeking to kill you." Rose explained, slowly and carefully, clearly trying to remember how it was explained to her.

"Jim says he does it so no one else has to have blood on their hands." Kevin added. "He stopped Spock from killing someone that tried to kill him, he said Vulcans aren't allowed to kill so Spock shouldn't."

"He's a smart young man, and he's absolutely right." Archer spoke up. "Ensign Scott, I need you in the transporter room. We'll go after Kodos, but the first thing we're doing is getting those children on board- they've had enough waiting." Forget securing the colony, protocol or not. These children had suffered enough, and he wasn't going to let them get killed after surviving this long. He walked over to the communications station from his chair. "Rose, Kevin, is there an older child we can talk to?"

"Um, Hang on."

"Rose went to get someone." Kevin told them. "Are we really going to get aboard a spaceship? Can I see the bridge? I really want to be a communications officer."

"Once you've gotten checked out by the sickbay, laddie. You need to be healthy to be on the bridge." Scott grinned. "I've got to go, but why donnae you talk to Mrs. Amanda for a bit, she's real nice."

"Okay, bye Mr. Scott!" Ensign Scott left with a grin, (Archer was later sure he must've run to the transporter room, because it was only a short time later that he reported he was there, and had found the children's location) and Kevin began talking to Amanda about the math Spock had taught them, and the logic games that they'd played.

"Okay, I got Fin." Rose's voice returned.

"Fin, this is Admiral Archer, We're going to start beaming you up at your current location, but we're going to send down a security team first- they wear red shirts and badges, but they won't hurt you, understand? So don't let the little ones panic."

"Yes sir. We're all in a cave, we'll come out once they're here . . . but Jim and Spock aren't back yet."

"We won't leave them, don't worry, but you better get your injured and sick out first okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

><p>Lt. Tomlinson of Security glanced around at the trees, noting how bare and rotten they were. It was almost as if the planet had started to die.<p>

"Oh!" The female security officer behind him gasped, and he turned to see the children start to emerge.

Tomlinson had seen the holos of the death camp survivors from the Earth's second world war. These children looked just like them, thin and boney. The older kids looked much worse than the younger ones (apparently, it wasn't just one older kid that skimped on their own food so the younger ones could have it) and they were all looking at them warily, like animals prepared to bolt at the slightest threat. "Alright, Injured and Sick first, let's get you kids out of this hell-hole, shall we?" They still looked uncertain, but a girl was directing a group with a makeshift stretcher out of the cave, and a couple others came holding the injured and sick. Tomlinson knew he was going to have nightmares as he glanced at the face of the one on the stretcher, it was half covered by a rag which had turned brown from the blood. "Transporter, Six to transport." The children lined up under the directions of the older girl (named Ruth). In almost no time, the only ones left were Ruth, Rose, Kevin and Tilainya, and they refused to leave until Spock and Jim got back.

"Listen!" The Vulcan Ambassador's wife cried out from the comm.. "I know you want to wait for Jim and my son, Spock, I would too if I was there, but you've got to trust us, we're here to rescue you and take you to someplace safe, we won't abandon any child, and you can bet a cookie that I won't leave until I have my son on board with me." Tomlinson nodded.

"Right, Starfleet doesn't leave anyone behind, we won't leave without them." For a moment, they looked convince, and then Tilainya shot off with a shout of '_Chuchuru!_' Tomlinson had three of his men hold onto the other three to keep them from running off as well, and then he and the other two on the team gave chase.

Tilainya hadn't gone far. Spock was half carrying, half dragging Jim back.

"We're Starfleet, we're here to help." Tomlinson said before they approached, it was a good thing, too, as the Vulcan startled and actually lifted a phaser to point at them before the words registered. Tomlinson moved forward. "Malcolm, help him with the kid, let's get them to the beaming point."

* * *

><p>Spock had completely forgotten he had been carrying a personal comm. unit, with all the other comm. units unable to send off planet, he had assumed that it no longer worked as well. It had given him a shock to hear it go off, and he had felt numb as he took out the chirping comm. and Jim's gentle encouragement to even think of actually answering. Hearing that a Starfleet relief ship was contacting him, and his father's voice had made it seem even more unreal.<p>

He hadn't realized he had actually given up hope of rescue until that moment. Jim had taken the comm. from him, telling him to regain control- he was mostly recovered when he heard Jim try to get out of admitting he was injured (If anything, _Jim_ was the reason why he now knew what emotion accompanied the thought of Jim not taking care of himself- Irritation), when he had heard it. A group of branches snapping that shouldn't have. He'd alerted Jim, who cursed and quickly gave the comm. to Rose and the two covered up the cave entrance as the others that took the job of distractions started to run, creating false trails before they returned to the cave.

One of the soldiers had fired at them, and Jim took the blast meant for Spock even as he returned fire. Jim had collapsed and Spock took the gun to fire back- he didn't know whether or not he had actually hit something, but given that the soldiers had not continued to pursue them, it was a logical conclusion that he had gotten them. Jim's breathing was ragged, and Spock began to pull him back to the cave. Jim had been conscious enough to try to help, but he had not enough strength to actually do anything productive. He'd sprained his ankle in the fall, as well.

Tilainya coming at them had surprised Spock, but he hadn't bothered scolding her. It was the fact that he'd reacted to the presence of adults by pointing the phaser at them that made him a little concerned. He didn't relinquish his hold on Jim, and the security team didn't press.

He actually made it until they fully materialized and had started to step off the circle before he passed out.

Vulcans could go a long, but limited, time with little food or water, and Spock had more than passed that limit.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, as I was writing the chapter I realized I was way off on one my timeline notes (again): Scotty actually was only on Delta Vega for a year. (I was drugged up on pain meds, I think I can be forgiven from making some random mistakes) So, he's currently 26, graduated from the academy, and working as a lowly engineer on the <strong>_**Porthos**_**. So here's another character that Jim meets way before the events of the movie. (I swear, Scotty all but jumped up and down shouting for me to include him. He wouldn't let the communications officer do her job, either. I found I couldn't stop him, so I let him have it.) **

**Originally, I was going to have Pike, but he refused and Archer came up instead. As for Tomlinson, he's the dad of the character from TOS. **

**This ends Part 1- which covers events on Tarsus. Part 2 will have recoveries, counseling and discussions of the past and future.**

**See ya next chapter!**


	6. Part 2 point 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything regarding Star Trek.**

"_Foreign Earth language translated to Standard._"

"**Alien Language translated to standard**."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'_Telepathic speech._'

_Thoughts._

"Occasionally, _a foreign/alien word_ will be in a sentence."

* * *

><p>"A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17<p>

* * *

><p>In Need and Deed- Part 2.1<p>

The medical bay was crowded with the children from Jim's group and the nurses and doctors checking up on them. It took both Admiral Archer and Ambassador Sarek to convince Amanda to wait and relax until the doctor's allowed them in to see Spock. She reluctantly agreed to wait until the doctor's allowed it.

Malnutrition, illness and compromised immune systems were the general diagnosis. Hairline fractures in the human bones, and the loss of teeth, way too early for any of the children, proved the loss of calcium.

Of all of the group, Spock was the best off, his Vulcan heritage giving him the ability to go through long periods of little nutrition and drought better than any other race meant that he could recover a little quicker than the others.

Jim, by contrast, was the worst off. He had broken ribs, (Spock had grabbed him as gently as he could, but the bones had become too brittle to not break when the half Vulcan had grabbed him) an illness that was the combination of bronchitis and pneumonia in his lungs, a broken ankle (A hairline fracture that Spock had thought a sprain), and he'd been shot by a phaser in the back, which had done more damage than Spock logically thought possible.

He was also allergic to most of the antibiotics that the doctors and nurses tried to give him, and went into cardiac arrest several times. Spock felt it, and that made his own readings spike.

Spock's readings confused the doctors; until he explained that he developed an empathic imprint on Jim and so felt his friend's distress. That was also when they found out a rather interesting piece of information regarding Tilainya.

Whatever species Tilainya was, they also imprinted empathically on their caretakers. There were generally two for a 'pod' of four children, but there could be as many as three or just a single one. One was _Churu_, the protector (usually male, and translated into 'dad' in standard), the one that guarded the pod, the other was _Waitai_, the nurturer (usually female, and translated as 'mom' in standard), who fed and cuddled the children. However, the children only ever bonded to one parent at a time, and while they usually bonded or imprinted to the 'mother', they could bond to the 'father'. If there was only one caretaker, that one was automatically _Churu_.

_Chuchuru_, roughly translated into 'little father', and referred to a male, that for whatever reason, took charge of a pod's protection before his own maturity had been reached. Because Jim had fought and killed to protect them, Tilainya had imprinted on him. This meant that unless there was a good reason, Tilainya needed to be in the same room as Jim to sleep.

This caused some worry, as Jim needed to be hooked up to several machines to live until they found a safe cocktail of drugs, and Tilainya insisted on curling up at Jim's side.

Tommy, on the other hand, had more trouble- the dermal regulator had done a lot, but he was still disfigured, and the chemical burns from the plasma to his eye made it necessary to remove it. To put it simply, there was next to nothing they could do to fix the left side of his face.

There was good news- some parents_ did _survive, and were being treated as well on the other ships that had been sent the instant Archer had requested backup. However, because of the trauma, the children felt safer with the older kids, and were wary about trusting the nurses and doctors unless one of the older kids were there.

However, out of all the survivors, they soon learned that only ten of them were able to identify Kodos. Worse, in Spock's opinion, was the fact that he heard the first officer tell one of the counselors that they found a burned body but were unsure if it was the actual Kodos. They weren't going to tell them, which he found illogical. He told Ruth what he heard, who passed it onto Tommy. They weren't pleased by being kept in the dark by the adults after the hell they had been through, but chose not to make an issue of it. ("If the adults want to be coddling, let them, they don't know any better." Tommy had growled.)

* * *

><p>Jim woke up feeling better but exhausted; it took a long moment for him to realize he was in a hospital. It took another minute to realize that there was someone curled at his side.<p>

"I believe the human expression is 'Welcome back'?" He blinked, and smiled up at Spock who was sitting next to him and holding his hand.

"Yeah, you're getting better at that." He relaxed a bit. If Spock was here, everything was fine.

"I don't see the logic in that sentiment, Jim, but I am pleased to know my staying at your side is comforting to you." Jim chuckled, and gently gripped his friend's hand. The lump at his side uncurled a little, and Jim glanced down, Spock figuring out the question before it was said. "Tilainya's species apparently requires the contact of at least one parental until to recover from a stressful situation. Due to our situation, she imprinted on you as a substitute. Her father managed to survive the massacre, but he is currently in a medical coma." This explained the random cuddle time the little alien had sought out, now that Jim thought about it.

"How many survivors?"

"Of the 4,000 scheduled to be killed . . . only a hundred and sixty four have survived. It would have been more, but some were just too ill to be saved." Spock's matter of fact tone would have made the counselor's upset, but Jim liked it. It was a lot more real than words tinged with sympathy and comfort that someone who hadn't gone through what they had could do. "Of those, only ten are capable of identifying Kodos, for one reason or another. However, they found what they assume is Kodos' body, burned beyond recognition, so it is doubtful we will need to provide testimony."

"You don't think that Kodos is dead." They had seen him, once. They'd done a very risky job getting food out of Tarsus Central, and had managed to get into the governor's kitchens, Spock, Tommy, Kevin and Jim had done it, and they all got a good look at the man putting them through hell. (A week later, Ruth and Tommy managed to steal some food and Ruth got a good look at him, too.)

He didn't look like the monster the children had imagined, but even Kevin knew not to judge by appearances.

"It is unlikely, he already showed he would kill to live, and the fact the body was found burned beyond recognition implies that it was not meant to be recognized." Spock didn't give the probabilities; he could tell Jim was already falling asleep again.

"Tommy?"

"His face is disfigured, but he's already coming up with stories to earn sympathy from girls." Spock deadpanned, and Jim gave another soft chuckle. "We have to meet with counselors to give our testimony." Spock felt Jim's dislike and retreat at that. "Ruth has already informed them that their attempt to treat us as children will not be tolerated, quite rationally at that." Jim gave a small smile, and nodded, before falling asleep. Spock kept his grip on Jim's hand; it was a better method of monitoring his friend's state than watching the monitors.

* * *

><p>"Spock." Spock saw his mother hesitate at stepping forward when they were finally allowed to see each other. Wordlessly he pulled her into a gentle hug, surprising them both.<p>

"Mother . . . I was starting to think I wouldn't see you again . . . the probabilities were so strongly against it."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Spock, I shouldn't have suggested you go with T'Pre."

"No, mother, it wasn't your fault." Spock cut in, pulling back a little. "It was a good idea, and I did indeed have a fascinating learning experience, but the actions of the governor were illogical and highly unpredictable." Spock blinked as Sarek gently wrapped his arm around his son's shoulders.

"Indeed."

* * *

><p>Ensign Scott winced as the nurse finished fixing his hand- he'd burned it trying to fix a conduit. And this particular nurse was not only immune to the Scottish charm, but seemed to actually hate him with a passion, for no known reason for that matter. The only thing he can come up with was that he might have hit on her while he was drunk.<p>

Most of the kids were out an about on the starship with the nurses and/or counselors, save for the ones that were really injured (Rose was practically attached to her dad's leg, it was rather adorable to see the both of them in engineering, Rose passing tools to her father or getting him food when it was time for lunch) and Scott noticed that one of the teens, the one called Jim that he'd talk to, was sitting up on the bed looking at an engineering magazine.

"Hey there, Laddie, if ye want a quick tip- there's some nice looking dancers in the previous issue." Jim jerked slightly, before the words caught up to his brain.

"I'd noticed. How'd that happen, anyway?"

"Some of the lads in engineering get bored of the pictures of these lovely ladies, prefer flesh and blood ones." Scott gestured to the seat. "Mind if I join you? I got off my shift."

"I guess."

"We didn't get promptly introduced, I'm Montgomery Scott. I'm an engineering ensign."

Five minutes later, the nurse realized that side of the room had gone too quiet, and she looked to see Ensign Scott gone and the biobed empty.

* * *

><p>Admiral Archer was <span>not<span> amused that Ensign Scott had apparently kidnapped James Kirk from sickbay. He was also really annoyed that the ships computer couldn't seem to locate them other than 'Engineering'. In fact, if he'd been the one to find the two of them, he'd have set his beagles on said engineer. As it was he headed to the smaller rec room to see if anyone knew where Scott could possibly hide in engineering when all he really wanted to do was return to his quarters and make sure Aramis hadn't eaten a dress shoe again (it happened only when the beagle sensed his stress and decided to act out on it, and Archer knew he had been stressed out the past couple of days. It was always his dress shoes that got eaten, on that note).

"Admiral, may I inquire as to what troubles you?" Archer straightened as he glanced at Amanda, her husband and son just a little bit away.

"Jim's gone missing along with one of my ensigns. We're having trouble locating them, but we know they're still on ship."

"Jim's fine." All three adults blinked and looked at Spock, whose ears tinted green. "That is the source of your concern for Jim's whereabouts, is it not? His wellbeing?"

"Yes, but how do you know he's okay?" Archer saw Sarek's eyebrow raise as his son fidgeted slightly.

"I just know when Jim is in need of assistance. He does not require any right now."

"How sure are you about that?" Spock didn't answer, instead opening the door to the little used Rec Room three- or normally little used.

Because at that moment, there was a crowd of people from engineering playing poker, including Scott and Jim, Scott teaching the alien girl Tilainya how to play. There was no money, only different types of cookies, and as they watched Jim won the pot (again, judging from the amount he already had by his side) by bluffing.

"And that, lassie, is called a bluff- your pal Jim's very good at them."

"Thank you Scotty." Jim grinned and tossed an Oreo at him. "Hey Spock, would you like to learn how to play?"

"What sort of game is it?"

"Ensign Scott, why did you remove him from the sickbay?" Archer interrupted, and the crowd went still.

"He was bored, sir. I thought I'd show him around a wee bit."

"And I agreed to it, Admiral- I was about ready to try escaping on my own, anyway." Jim turned to Spock. "It's a game of probability and chance, Spock; I can show you how to play."

"Can I try this time?" Tilainya asked.

"Sure, lass, I'll help ye."

"You're teaching poker to a child?" Amanda raised her own eyebrow.

"I'm not teaching the wee bairn to lose track of life, ma'am, just how to have some fun- and some treats while she's at it." Scott looked a little insulted.

"Fair enough, deal me in, then." Amanda took a spot next to Jim, and smiled as he passed her some cookies. "I haven't played since college." Sarek shook his head, and he and Archer decided to leave them at it.

* * *

><p>It was a couple days later when Archer told the children they had contacted their next of kin, and they would be meeting them at Starbase 47. However, Sarek noted that Jim's eyes darkened a little and his own son stiffened, shooting the blond a quick glance. As the children started talking Archer moved over to Jim. Under the chatter, Sarek could hear them.<p>

"Riley's really can't take me, huh?"

"They don't have room they said, taking in Kevin will stretch their resources as it is."

"And?"

"We still can't get in touch." Archer admitted. "James . . ."

"Don't, I'm used to it."

Roughly 38.7 hours later, Sarek watched as parents and guardians held the children, but Jim was left off to the side, almost ignored. The children said good bye to him, before they left.

"Ambassador, you and your family can leave if you've got a transport; Jim's family is on their way."

"I heard your conversation before, where's James' family, really, Admiral?"

"Ambassador . . ." Archer glanced around the room, and sighed. "His mother's out of reach, a five year mission on the _U.S.S. Intrepid_, and his stepfather has no interest in traveling through space to here, just to return to earth. We don't know where his brother is, or we'd get him. Officially, I have the ability to act as James' guardian and take him to Earth that way, despite my unofficial opinion."

"And your unofficial opinion, then?"

"Jim's been through hell, all of them have, he needs a place where someone will care enough to help him heal . . . and he won't get that if he goes to his stepfather." Archer sighed. "Don't worry, ambassador, I'll figure something out."

"If I may . . . your doctor's reported an empathic link between my son and James, did they not?" He'd meditated with his son, who'd done his best to hide the link to the other boy, but Sarek had still seen memories that weren't his son's, memories of a child, alone and unwanted, angry and in need of someone to lean on.

Taking care of a child was a logical thing, after all, especially when it was so clear that no one else would or even could.

"Yes."

"Then, if you can get their permission, would it not me logical to have James come with us to Vulcan, so we may see the full extent of this link?" Sarek asked and Archer gave him an appraising look. "After all, Vulcans are more equipped to deal with matters of the mind than humans . . ." Sarek trailed off, and Archer smiled.

"You're quite right, Ambassador, it would be more logical for his health . . . they'd agree, I'm sure."

"Dare I ask?" Amanda had returned to her husband's side, while Spock and Jim played with Aramis the beagle (who had gotten spoiled by the children's attention, Archer just knew it); well, Jim played with the dog, Spock just watched in bemusement. Sarek gently took her hand, and explained what he and Archer had been discussing.

Amanda's smile and nod approved the idea.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah, Scotty . . . do you have any idea how awkward it was to write him as Ensign Scott? I kept hitting the 'y'. He's not quite 'Scotty' yet, though, Jim's given him the nickname, but it's not going to take.<strong>

***Sighs* Next chapter will be in Jim's point of view, Chapter after that will be healing on Vulcan.**


	7. Part 2 point 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything regarding Star Trek- and this chapter backs up a bit before going forward- it's in Kirk's point of view.**

"_Foreign Earth language translated to Standard._"

"**Alien Language translated to standard**."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'_Telepathic speech._'

_Thoughts._

"Occasionally, _a foreign/alien word_ will be in a sentence."

* * *

><p>"A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17<p>

* * *

><p>In Need and Deed- Part 2.2<p>

The second time Jim had woken up, Spock had not been by his side- nor had Tilainya. Instead, there had been a beagle- just barely out of puppyhood- licking his nose and wagging its tail so hard its body shook.

"Y'know, it's a good thing I don't sleep with my mouth open." He informed the beagle and sat up, absently petting it. He felt less tired, and was already eager to get out of bed somehow. "Are dogs normally allowed on starships?" He asked the dog, finding no name tag.

"No, but you can get permission if you fill out a bunch of forms." Jim looked up to see a man in Command gold and looking tired beyond belief. "Of course, with this one's track record, I might have been better off picking his sister. I don't know how he even got into sickbay, let alone out of my quarters." The man's scowl turned into a slight smile as the dog barked and almost fell off the bed as his tail-wagging doubled. "I'm sorry if he woke you."

"It's fine, what's his name?"

"Aramis. I'm Admiral Archer." Jim hadn't been able to stop himself from stiffening and looking up warily. "Relax, son, I'm not going to bite. Aramis might if you don't start petting him again." The admiral slipped into the nearby chair, petting his dog. "Doctors say you're healing up pretty good, after their miscalculation with the meds. Your kids are doing alright, and your Vulcan keeps annoying the staff by not sleeping in his bed when he's here, just so you know."

"My- wait what?"

"Would you prefer I said your crew and first officer? Because that's the only other way I could describe it."

"I'm not following."

"I'm not surprised, Jim- or would you prefer me call you something else?"

" . . . Jim's fine. What am I supposed to be following?"

"We've been collecting stories from the survivors, or at least, those that will talk to us. All of them refer to you as the sole figure that kept them alive- even some of the smaller groups acknowledged that you helped them. You've got a good head on your shoulders for command. Different than your father- I'm pretty sure he would have preferred being second in command for the rest of his days."

"You . . . I'm not like him."

"Did I say you were? I said you were different. You've got some of your father and mother in you, but you're your own man." Archer held the other's focus. "I knew your father in passing, only, but I was your mother's mentor. The Winona Kirk I knew had a great capacity for love and taking care of others. Clearly, things have changed, and I should've kept a better eye on her." Archer sighed. "Don't worry, I've given orders to those who do know not to say or do anything to bother you." The rest of the conversation had Jim slowly opening up to the Admiral.

The only other adult to succeed in making Jim relax was Ensign Montgomery Scott.

Scott never said a word of what they talked about when he took Jim from engineering, or what they talked about on the other times the ensign managed to get him away from the evil place known as 'sickbay'. (Occasionally, Spock joined them.) Generally, they went to engineering, where Scott showed him how to repair various machines, all the while talking about various things.

"When I get to be chief engineer, I hope mah Captain wouldnae mind me hiding a wee still. It's a shame just to wait until shore leave to get summat."

"Isn't that against regs?"

"Only if the captain minds. Starships are like floating colonies, Jim, a great deal of self-suffiency is needed, and the Captain always has the final say. Ye can get up to quite a lot as long as the captain permits it- and the higher-ups look the other way 'cause being out in the middle of nowhere for months at a time? That makes even the most stringent rule-follower want to loosen up and relax." Scott explained.

"Sounds nice."

"Aye, it can be. Trick is finding the people ye can work with and have fun with at the same time. Otherwise, it's nae fun."

" . . . I think I'd enjoy that, I'd have to be captain, though, I really have issues with authority."

"And Sickbays." Scott added, with a grin. Jim laughed.

"Yeah . . ." Blue eyes darkened slightly, realizing that it would once again mean being compared with his father- Archer said that his father hadn't wanted captaincy, but he'd gotten it, at the end.

"So, Captain, would ye let me have a still?" Scott grinned; it had lessened slightly, but was still reaching his eyes as he saw Jim's mood change.

"Well, it's against regulations, but technically, I'd have to know _where_ exactly the still was to enforce them. I mean, saying there's a still in engineering sounds like hearsay, Scotty, so as long as nothing definite is said about such a hypothetical still . . ." Jim returned the grin with a smile, still slightly caught in darker thoughts.

"How old are ye, lad? Been meaning to ask that for a while, ye think like a general."

"Fifteen, why?"

"Too young for me to be introducing ye to scotch, then."

"I've had some before."

"How? If ye don't mind me asking?"

" . . . One of the groups that didn't make it, they . . . they kind of went crazy." Jim explained, and Scott stopped his repairs to look at the kid (a decade younger than him but had seen so much more). "The soldiers didn't get them, but they started drinking the alcohol stashes they found. I don't think they wanted to survive, either. They drank, took pills and hypo sprays for highs . . . basically acted out the worst of humanity. I found them when I went on a solo run- a lot of the kids were sick at that point, and I had to bargain for the medicine they had." Jim sighed, rubbing his face and leaving a black mark. Scott didn't say anything. "I don't know much of what happened, other than I did get the medicine needed back to our camp along with a little girl whose older brother was one of the kids drinking. I was pretty beat up, too, which is why Spock refused to let me go on anymore solo runs." He finished with a half grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Says a lot about me, doesn't it?"

"Aye, yer a damn fine young man." Jim did a double take. "The world was going to hell around you- those kids started drinking and drugging themselves up and stopped caring about everything, but even when you drank, ye still remembered yer kids and got a wee one out of that situation as well. Yeh did good, Ah ken adults who wouldnae have done half as well as yeh in that situation, mahself included." His accent thickened as he made sure to get his point across to the teenager. "Yer a hero in your own right, yer father saved lives by dying, yeh saved lives by living. In mah book, that makes ye a lot more impressive, Cap."

" . . ." Jim looked away, adding another dark smudge to his face as his eyes went slightly wet and he preemptively wiped a hand across his face. When he looked back, the wetness disappeared and amusement had returned. "'Cap'?"

"Aye, yer a little captain, and Ah've got to have summat to call yeh if yer going to be calling me 'Scotty'!" Scott grinned. "Sides, now ye've gotten a Scottish engineer to go with a Vulcan first officer."

Jim groaned at that. "Rose told you about that, didn't she?"

* * *

><p>Between Archer and Scott, he started to get some of his trust in adults back, though they all knew that he would never completely trust adults and authority ever again.<p>

A fact cemented when Archer quietly admits to Jim that his mother and step-father aren't willing to come for him, Winona's too far away (as usual, she'd probably prefer to be on the other side of the universe) and his step-father won't even accept Starfleet's offer of free transportation to come pick him up.

Jim was no stranger to being on his own- self-sufficiency was a trait deeply ingrained in him by being left to his own devices.

So he could always see the signs of when people didn't want him. The _Porthos_ had set aside a communications unit for the children to use to speak with off world relatives (and occasionally, a mom or dad that hadn't been on planet when things went to hell) and he'd had his first clue that he was going to be on his own then.

His uncle's brother had his eyes on Kevin, not him. When Kevin asked, they said Jim was going back to his mother, and Kevin's aunt had apologized to him, saying that they'd take him if they had the resources.

They knew exactly what he'd have to go back to, but they hadn't cared that Jim could pull his own weight to help with said resources.

The first few days, the children had stayed close together, fearful of the adults because adults had been what hunted them, but the younger children began to bounce back, recovering a little quicker than the teens. They hoarded food, were quick to hide if they saw a phaser on a belt or in an adults hand, but both actions were completely understandable to the adults that treated them- going through hell wasn't an experience one easily forgot.

Things with Ruth had dissolved quietly, almost unspoken. They had been together only twice after the first time, because hunger and illness made such a thing too dangerous, not to mention they'd needed to stay with the group as it expanded. They'd spent plenty of nights just sleeping together, curled up side by side, which had almost been better. Emotionally, they were both too tired to do or even try anything and so things dissolved, but were left open-ended, on the off-chance that someday, they would meet and get a chance to start over.

Tommy had lost a lot of his easy going nature. He'd become slightly paranoid and all but growled at all the adults. Their friendship didn't dissolve, but it was clear that Tommy blamed Jim for something, which left it strained.

Of course, Spock had sensed the way his thoughts had gone, and stayed with him while the others left and reminded him that he was still connected. And, if he had his way, he wasn't going to leave Jim behind.

Spock was certain that his mother could be convinced to have Jim brought along, but even though Jim was his T'hy'la, he wasn't sure how much it would take to convince his father. So it came as a pleasant surprise when his mother informed him that because of the bond it would be necessary for Jim to come with them and stay on Vulcan to recover.

The best part, though, came when they told Jim.

"Huh?" Jim blinked at Spock and Amanda, both of whom were packing up his things (they'd managed to salvage a lot of things from the farmhouse before they left Tarsus IV's orbit) while he struggled to get a shirt on. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard- you want me to stay with you on Vulcan? Highly emotional and illogical me?"

"I think it would be fascinating to study the reactions it would cause." Spock stated dryly, packing the stuffed animal that Rose had insisted on getting Jim before she left- it was a garish pink thing that he wasn't sure resembled any known animal species, with a bright red fabric rose sewed to its head. Jim, of course, thought it nice (and judging from his mother's smile, she thought so too). Briefly, Spock remembered that Rose had been actually an Alien child, and realized he'd never had a chance to ask.

"It's just until you're able to stand on your feet- you can get your degree there, and you won't have to worry about anyone's opinion of you- Vulcans don't hero worship your father like others in the federation." Amanda walked over and helped him into his shirt. "Besides, no one is sure of how a T'hy'la bond between a half Vulcan and a full Human will work out, and the healers would like to check to make sure there is no difficulty that could spring up." She helped him pull on the long-sleeved black button-down and buttoned it for him, while Jim flushed and glanced away.

"Oh, okay . . . I just don't want to impose on your family . . ."

"You're not imposing, James T. Kirk, it was logically beneficial for you and our family to have you stay with us." Sarek answered, from the door. "We'll have to go to the medical center when we reach Vulcan so we can give you some Tri-ox; unfortunately, our air is not suitable for humans." Jim gave a short nod, but as they began to leave he glanced at Spock, a little unsure. Spock just gave him an encouraging nod. This would be a better situation, and Spock would be able to complete his studies with Jim- which would be much better than being alone.

Perhaps more disturbing to the two than the realization that they'd survived, was the realization that they were now 15 and 18; they'd spent almost six months on the run, and that they both had no way of knowing how far behind they were in studying (though Jim had actually gotten his GED on Tarsus IV, before everything had gone to hell). They both felt that they had aged more, because they had been the ones most responsible for everyone else.

Which meant that they would get a year to recover before continuing on an academic track- to wherever.

Though given the way both of Sarek's eyebrows had raised when he looked at the assessment he had given Jim, Amanda was sure that both boys would still be together on the same academic track, no matter what.

* * *

><p><strong>I think Scotty's only dream was to reach being chief engineer. He probably went kicking and screaming when they promoted him. (Okay, maybe not the only dream, but I'm pretty sure it was the main one. He could've died happy on the enterprise, I'm sure.)<strong>

**Two Chapters in one day! (Because I needed a break from the evil that was a final paper)**


	8. Part 2 point 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything regarding Star Trek- and this chapter is in (mainly) Amanda's point of view.**

"_Foreign Earth language translated to Standard._"

"**Alien Language translated to standard**."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'_Telepathic speech._'

_Thoughts._

"Occasionally, _a foreign/alien word_ will be in a sentence."

* * *

><p>"A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17<p>

* * *

><p>In Need and Deed- Part 2.3<p>

On the Shuttle to Vulcan, Amanda watched as Spock and Jim played each other on a tri-d board. They were both good players, though it was Jim's first time. They also kept a running debate on a controversial theory on warp cores as they played, which included teasing.

"You appear amused, Amanda." Sarek joined her on the couch.

"Just watching them- You'd never know that they were three years apart in age."

"Indeed . . ." Sarek murmured, remembering the test he had given Jim. "I've contacted a healer who should be able to help them find out how their two minds got linked. Spock is extremely wary of me getting too close to the link to examine it."

"What do you think is the reason?"

"James kept our son sane when things became too hard on Tarsus; most likely, he feels the need to hold onto such a focus to make sure that this is real . . . that he is not dreaming."

" . . . Vulcans do not dream unless something is wrong." Amanda murmured. Sarek nodded, and took her hand.

'_The other possibility is highly improbable._' She looked at him. '_Remember, I told you about the different levels of bonds? Including the ones that seem to be no longer possible for our kind?_'

'_Yes, why?_'

'_There is a possibility that it is not just an emphatic link, but a T'hy'la bond._' Amanda's eyes widened, and glanced at the two. '_If that's the case, then there is no way for the link to be dissolved- James is Psi-null, according to his file, and a completely different species, there's no precedent for such a thing, and I cannot predict anything. I don't know if this is a good occurrence or a bad occurrence, but . . ._'

'_Perhaps this is the universes way of making sure Spock does not deny his human heritage entirely._' Amanda offered, a little amused at how worried her husband was.

'_I will have to speak to the council while you are at the healers with them._' And Sarek pulled his thoughts away. Amanda allowed it, before watching the boys once more.

* * *

><p>Not too long later, Amanda let out a breath (she hadn't realized she was holding) as Jim and Spock emerged from the mind healer's room, both looking a little better than before. Sarek was busy with the council, so she was here to act as their guardian, and to relay necessary information to Sarek. The four entered the healer's office, and sat in the chairs provided. The mind healer was one of the best, and was very old, her hair had turned white, though it was still thick, and her face had very few wrinkles- probably from a lifetime of keeping it impassive.<p>

"The bond is indeed a T'hy'la bond," She said, studying the two. "It has been a long time since I dealt with a patient that had such a bond, but I can tell it is one. It is very strong, because of the stressful time it had to undergo, and seems that it will continue to grow stronger for a while yet."

"Is that a good thing?" Jim asked, slightly tentative. The Healer studied him a moment.

"He means is it beneficial to us to have it continue to strengthen, or will it cause us problems." Spock explained.

"I am aware of what that Terran phrase means. At this point, I am not sure how it will continue to influence you when it does get stronger. I am only certain that at this point, you will be able to locate each other with minimal difficulty and feel slightly what the other feels. There is no record of a Vulcan and Non-Vulcan T'hy'la bond anywhere in our history, and so it is hard to be certain of the possibilities. I would request that you both keep notes on what you can feel through the bond, as well as how your melds happen." They both nodded, Jim a little more hesitant. "Now, both of you are experiencing what human's call survivor's guilt- you feel guilty for surviving when others died. Logically, you both know that there was no help for it, but the emotion still haunts you, as do other emotions of fear, hunger and need to protect." Spock shifted slightly. "This is completely normal, even for full Vulcans, Spock." The healer made eye contact. "Vulcans rely on logic to control their emotions not because it is shameful to have them, but because if we let our emotions run wild we could seriously hurt someone. Vulcans experience rather pure and untainted emotions, there is very little mixing of emotions. If we are angry, we are furious, if we are glad, we are happy, if we are jealous, we are possessive of what we deem ours. We are a telepathic and empathic species, our minds can express our thoughts and emotions to others, so we shield so we do not burden others. An entire species experiencing each other's emotions leads to chaos." Amanda was sure that some of this was being said aloud for the benefit of her and Jim. "Your difficulty lies in that as a half human you have the need to express some emotions the way humans do. There is no shame in this, but the fact is that while your mother is logical for a human, being raised as a full Vulcan left you unprepared to deal with human emotions that you feel. You feel the shades of grey that humans do, the mixing of emotions that makes them so unpredictable, because humans are capable of feeling conflicting emotions, like joy and anger, at the same time. They are also able to pretend to have one emotion while actually feeling another." The healer stopped, then gave what might have been a sigh. "Forgive me; I seem to have gone off on a tangent. The point I wished to make was that this bond is helping you both heal from that guilt and fear, because you are able to feel each other and help purge that emotion. I believe humans call this catharsis.

"The current issue, however, is the lack of shields that James has. You've done an admirable job of helping him, Spock, and you might consider looking into mind healing, but you were only able to create general shields to protect his mind and keep him from constantly sending you information through the bond. It is admirable also that that James was able to learn such a thing in such a highly emotional environment. I would recommend the two of you meditate together to continue structuring the shields, as well as coming here so I may check your progress and help James. I have already started him on the basics." Both boys nodded again. "Then that is all I have to say for this session."

* * *

><p>Amanda found it rather interesting, having Jim staying with them. He had quite a personality; though it was clear he kept it in check when he was not in their home. When he was home, he'd laugh, make jokes that would have Spock's eyes glitter in amusement (and more than once made her laugh as well), and in general, just relax. She also caught him working on her garden more than once; apparently working on something (plants, old mechanical objects needing repairs, etc.) was relaxing to him.<p>

What became painfully obvious, however, was his rather hesitant trust in her and Sarek. He was always a little wary, but it happened even more after he finally gained back weight and muscle, as if he expected them to turn on him. He trusted Spock with everything, listened to him, and was always beside or just in front of Spock, as if to protect him.

It reminded her of a story she had once read as a girl, by an old author, Jack London. _White Fang_, she thought might be the title (it had been a while). The wolf in the story was actually only 3/4 wolf, its mother had been half wolf, half dog. The wolf went through several stages, several different masters, several of whom were cruel or rather negligent of the wolf, until finally a young man came and took the wolf into his care (rescuing it from someone that kept it in a cage and tormented it). The wolf was smart, a survivor, but that 1/4 of dog had made him capable of being tamed, and the wolf became steadfastly loyal to the man, even breaking through a window to follow his human when the human had to return to his home, and never left his side.

Jim was the wolf, she realized. He was loyal to Spock, would tolerate her and Sarek because they were Spock's parents, but he had been hurt too many times in the past by adults that should have taken care of him. It would take a long time to get his trust. So she began to work on it, little by little drawing him to her, and getting him to trust her. Some days, she thought she had made progress, but then he would close down and pull away. To most humans, it wouldn't have been obvious, because he would still smile and talk respectfully, but she could see it was fake. (She lived with Vulcans, and despite claims otherwise, they did have facial expressions, just not obvious ones.)

Sarek listened to her and shared her thoughts, but he was less able to reach out to the young man than she was. Jim was wary every single time the older Vulcan was in the room with him.

* * *

><p>"So, Jim, how do you like Vulcan?" Amanda asked, one day while they were both working in the living room. It was the hottest part of the day, and not a good time for humans to be out in the sun. She was (supposed to be) working on a report- proof-reading it for Sarek's approval and Jim was working on some of the papers regarding academies and universities.<p>

"It's different from what I'm used to, I've always been on farms." He gave her a smile that with a slight variation probably would have made a younger girl swoon. "Definitely hotter than any place I've been, but I think it's actually interesting." She nodded, glancing at the next few lines of her papers.

"You've got a very high IQ, I imagine that your difficulties on earth were mostly because you were bored and at a much higher level than the rest of your peers."

"Probably, I never really thought about it like that." He glanced at the papers. "Do you think I'll be able to fit back in?"

"Jim, you've managed to make friends with several of Spock's year mates despite them being Vulcan, I know they are fond of you. If you're able to get Vulcans on your side, then I am sure that you will have no problem getting humans or anyone else on your side." Amanda smiled at him. "For that matter, I am sure that whatever you choose to do, you will be able to do it. You are a very talented individual." She saw him tense slightly, and glance away. She felt a small flare of disappointment, she thought she had him.

"Mrs. Amanda, can I ask you something?" She glanced at him in surprise. He was still tense, and looked ready to bolt, but he had put the padd down.

"Of course, Jim." He swallowed and Amanda restrained herself from moving to sit by him or reach out.

"Could- May I call you _Ko-mekh_?" Amanda's eyes went wide. _Ko-mekh_. Mother. Jim wanted to call her . . . was that why he had retreated all those times? How many times must he have wanted to call her Mother?

And what did that say about his relationship with his own biological mother, if he felt more at home on a planet different than anything he had ever known with people he had barely known?

"Of course you can, _Sa-fu_." She wasn't aware of moving, but she pulled him into an embrace all the same. "I would be honored." His arms wrapped around her, and she felt her shoulder begin to get wet. She gently rocked him.

"Thank you, _Ko-mekh_, thank you . . ." Work was forgotten for the rest of the day, and Amanda and Jim spent hours talking, even baking cookies at one point. (An illogical use of time, but worth it to see Jim's real smile as she retaliated against his flicking dough into her hair.) She discovered that he liked Shakespeare, had found and read some off his Dad's collection as a child, so she pulled out her old book of Shakespeare so they could read it together, which was how Spock and Sarek found them when they returned.

Amanda finally understood why Jim had constantly retreated from her every time that they made progress- it wasn't that he hadn't trusted her, but that he had grown too comfortable with both her and Sarek, and didn't know how to act, or even ask if he could be more than just someone staying with them. He had been scared of being rejected by them, and losing the closest thing he had to family after his own had either abandoned him (or died). Sarek had been slightly amused at that, when Amanda explained it to him, but made no comment about emotions- he understood the fear of making one's self vulnerable to someone else and the possibility, however slight, of being rejected by that one. It was a dangerous risk, and unlike with Spock, there was no mental connection between them that made such a thing easier.

Roughly a week after Jim had asked Amanda, he approached Sarek, asking permission to call him _Sa-mekh_. Sarek gave permission, though not as emotional as Amanda. Spock alternated between calling Jim T'hy'la and _Sa-kan_. (Generally, the latter was used for teasing and arguments) and Jim occasionally alternated between calling Spock T'hy'la and _Sa-kai._

If there had been concerns about how a human youth would interact and keep up with Vulcans, they'd been forgotten as James Kirk kept pace with Spock, and occasionally upsetting everyone else's logic with his intuition and imagination. Spock ignored the rather illogic sense of pleasure he felt when Jim managed to beat the Vulcan bullies that had made fun of him for being part human in a debate. There were still some reservations about having James Kirk on planet and studying like a Vulcan, but those were kept silent, as the human all but thrived on the planet.

* * *

><p><strong>So, how was that? I feel like I missed something during editing, but don't know what . . . (on that note, I've noticed a couple errors in previous chapters- why did no one point them out to me? I don't have a beta, so if I miss something, I have no way of knowing until I read my story myself, which I don't always do, on that note, so please, if you see errors, let me know so I can correct them- as it is, it's going to take awhile for me to correct the previous chapters, my current computer is dying a slow painful death and the new one doesn't have everything I need on it . . . grrr, technology . . . it's out to get me!) I do try to publish the best edited versions and make sure I've gotten everything, but I'm not perfect, and neither is the computer I'm using.<strong>

_Ko-Mekh: _Mother

_Sa-mekh:_ Father

_Sa-fu:_ Son

_Sa-kan _and _Sa-kai: _Both mean brother, but (as I understand it) 'Kan' indicates a child, so _Sa-kan_ means little brother while _Sa-kai_ is older brother.

**I could be wrong on the translations, of course, the internet isn't a hundred percent reliable, but I hope not.**


	9. Part 2 point 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own any rights to Star Trek, just a movie. On a roll with another double update . . . mostly cause of the break we just had. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

"_Foreign Earth language translated to Standard._"

"**Alien Language translated to standard**."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'_Telepathic speech._'

_Thoughts._

"Occasionally, _a foreign/alien word_ will be in a sentence."

* * *

><p>"A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17<p>

* * *

><p>In Need and Deed- 2.4<p>

"I have never understood your need to climb things. I must assume it is a result of the leftover instincts from your kind's evolution from primates." Spock watched his brother climb a rock formation in slight amusement.

"It's just a hobby, Spock." Jim glanced down. "It's not something that requires understanding- it's practicing a skill that could prove necessary at some point." He clarified at Spock's raised eyebrow.

"I see. And there's a difference between what you're doing and rock-climbing?"

"I'm doing free-hand climbing- that's climbing with just hands and feet, no harness or safety ropes. It requires a lot more skill."

"Which increases your chance for having an accident, by 64 percent, I might add." Spock crossed his arms. "I hope you do not plan on scaling anything higher than this without ropes or harnesses, Jim."

"Your worry for me-"

"Concern for my brother; which is valid, as I seem to recall you falling down the stairs yesterday." Spock interrupted.

"-Right. Anyway, your worry is unnecessary, I am aware of my own human limits." Jim reached the top. "Are you going to apply for the Science Academy?"

Spock gave the equivalent of a Vulcan eye-roll at his brother's change of topic. "Yes, Father expects me to. I'm going to be sending the application, but I'm going to be sending one to Starfleet as well." Jim began to make his way down. "And you, _Sa-kan_?"

"Starfleet, _Ko-mekh_ thinks I should go for the command track. I'm just not sure of accepting . . . Illogically, I don't want to leave here." Jim dropped the remaining few feet to the ground. "This is more home to me than even my Aunt and Uncle's- there I always knew that I didn't quite belong." Spock tossed him a bottle of water, and they began to head back.

"I believe Mother would say that it's not Illogical to want to stay with those you love."

"True." He'd be starting at 16- fairly young for the Starfleet academy; he'd be much younger than anyone else.

* * *

><p>T'Pau, Elder and Clan mother of one of the most prestigious Clans, narrowly lost control and let out a huff of breath when she saw the message in her box. She had been refusing the position on the council for weeks, it was illogical for her to do more than she already was, she was old, she would not last, and there would be too large of a power vacuum to fill when she died.<p>

She had been an advisor to the council for years; she saw no reason why she should change her status now. She stood and barely blinked at the slight pain in her hands and back. She was going to have to go through and schedule an appointment with the healer soon. For now, she would take a break and take a stroll to gather her thoughts.

* * *

><p>Jim loitered in one of the gardens as Spock went through the testing necessary to apply for the VSA (the eyebrow raises when he said the initials instead of the name were amusing, to say the least). They wouldn't get the actual acceptance for either place until three terran weeks had passed, but Jim was still hoping that Spock would go with him to Starfleet.<p>

He'd never had anyone that cared about him before, and it was rather daunting to think that he'd be the one leaving this time. Even with the assurance he could come back . . . he began fiddling with his padd, trying to sketch one of the flowering desert plants that had intricate combination of tiny flowers and sharp thorns.

"You draw well, James Kirk." Jim jumped, reflexes from Tarsus that had dimmed but still existed jumping forward before he controlled them.

Elder T'Pau raised an eyebrow as the blonde human startled slightly, a slight jerk of the body that made it so he had turned to look at her. Human reflexes were beyond their control, she noted, as he relaxed a little and straightened. Unlike Vulcans, who were capable of controlling even their gag reflexes when choking, Humans were quick to react, their bodies moving before their minds could process what was happening.

Logical, when realizing that humans were still capable of bloodthirsty savagery. The boy in front of her had lived through a prime example of how quickly humans could return to primitive urges.

"Elder T'Pau." He gave a polite bow of his head. "I did not hear you enter."

"I perceived this. I did not mean to startle you, James Kirk." The boy was wary of her still, like a wounded _Sehlat_ she had seen as a little girl, back when she thought she would be adept as a healer. It had been months since the human had been brought to Vulcan, because of a T'hy'la bond to Sarek's son.

And yet he still didn't trust anyone other than those three.

"Would I be correct in assuming you are here waiting for Spock and Sarek?" T'Pau asked.

"Yes ma'am. Spock is testing for admission to the Vulcan Science Academy." He was still wary, blue eyes studying her. "Would you like to sit down?" He gestured to the bench.

"No, thank you, I need to walk for an as yet undetermined amount of time." He tilted his head, before nodding.

"I see, would you like company on your walk, then?" It was a polite offer, more _pro forma_ than anything, but T'Pau gave into her curiosity about the human finally (perhaps the only vice that Vulcans would admit to having was curiosity and the desire to know and understand) and chose to act on it.

"If it would be no trouble." She took his arm as they began to walk through the gardens of the Science Academy. Knowing it would be illogical to expect the boy to speak first, T'Pau decided to begin their conversation. She had heard of the boy's unusual wit and logic capable of confusing even some of the more logical year mates, and was curious to see his solution to her own issue.

(And perhaps he would relax when she showed him that she too had difficulties.)

"I come to this garden when I need time to gather my thoughts, a moving meditation when I have no easy answer." She began. She felt his surprise, (within a certain distance, Vulcans could feel stray emotions without skin-to-skin contact) and his quick glance to her face, in an attempt to read her expression. "For years, I have acted as an advisor, both to the council of elders and our ambassadors, as I am currently one of the oldest living Vulcans. I have always turned down their requests to join the council of elders. And yet they persist in requesting me to become part of it."

"Your advice and knowledge must be considered valuable if they are persisting. Why do you not wish to join?"

"I am already a Clan-mother, should I take such a position I would have more power than advisable, and my death, whenever it happens, would create an even larger power vacuum."

"But could you not train replacements in case of your death?" T'Pau almost stopped dead at that simple question. She had not thought of that. "I don't know much about Vulcan politics, but it would be logical for anyone with a necessary position to have an apprentice or aide capable of taking over in case of death, would it not? It would add a little more work, but essentially you would still be advising, would you not?"

"I believe you may be correct, James Kirk. It is a position that I had not thought of, before." T'Pau felt the slight brush of pleasure at the compliment, and almost raised an eyebrow. "I sense you also have a difficulty, would you wish to discuss it with me?"

" . . . It's childish."

"If it was, it would not bother you so."

" . . . This Planet feels more like home than Iowa ever did. I feel safe here, yet I feel worried that if I do leave to go to Starfleet, I would not be able to return . . . That I would be without a family again." T'Pau felt the slight brushes of emotions, but even more, she realized that what she was feeling were mere drops of water compared to the emotions that the boy was shielding. "I fear I'll end up alone again."

"You won't, James. The bond of _T'hy'la_ cannot be broken by any distance, neither can the bond you feel to Sarek and Amanda." T'Pau was old, rooted in logic and thoughts, but she was still a mother, and he was still a child in need of reassurance. "I am aware of your shattered bonds to your Earth family, but I am even more aware that you are not the type to give up on anything you want. You will have a place here for as long as you want it, James Tiberius Kirk, and not a moment less. It was largely thanks to your efforts that Sarek did not lose another son, to either insanity or death, and your father also incurred several life debts due to his actions on the _Kelvin_. No one on Vulcan would turn you away if you ever need sanctuary." She brushed his hair off of his forehead in an absent-minded gesture left from when her own sons were young. "You are not alone, James, no being was ever born into this universe without the ability to have friends."

"I shall strive to remember that." _Thank you_. T'Pau felt the gratitude brush against her shields, and allowed him to see the approval and amusement she felt. Their conversation turned to the flora around them and when T'Pau took her leave, she felt a little more centered than she had been before.

She was old, but not jaded in any shape of the form, nor was she too mired in her logic to recognize when emotions could be revealed to others who would not judge you for them. James Kirk was one such individual, and she would be keeping an eye on him and his progress (as well as Spock) for the foreseeable future.

* * *

><p><strong>T'Pau doesn't have much in the way of background, but (and I can't remember where I found it) I found an interesting note that she refused to be part of the Vulcan council. So I was curious as to why and this became part of the chapter without me realizing it. Also, it was clear to me that T'Pau and Kirk had some respect for each other in TOS: Amok Time, Kirk a little more openly than T'Pau (though, you'll notice she doesn't care much for McCoy . . . ) so I wrote her in.<strong>

**Next Chapter will be Sarek and Spock's POV, and then the next **_**next**_** chapter (or two) after that will be the end of this fic- I've already got plans for a sequel that will cover the movie events- i.e. Nero, Elder Spock (or Spock Prime, whichever floats your boat) and the Maiden Voyage of the **_**Enterprise.**_** However, it will be a **_**CREW**_** fic, not just Spock and Kirk (not just the trio, either, on that note, but that last chapter for this fic might be more of trio forming chapter than anything. I'll give you more details at the end of this fic, though, so stick around!**


	10. Part 2 point 5

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this every chapter?**

"_Foreign Earth language translated to Standard._"

"**Alien Language translated to standard**."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'_Telepathic speech._'

_Thoughts._

"Occasionally, _a foreign/alien word_ will be in a sentence."

* * *

><p>"A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17<p>

* * *

><p>In Need and Deed-2.5<p>

Spock blinked as he saw Jim and his mother waiting for him outside the council chambers. Jim's blue eyes were almost blank. They'd talked about this, over and over, and Spock knew that while Jim wouldn't be happy, he would accept it if Spock chose the Vulcan Science Academy over Starfleet. His mother straightened his collar.

"Would it hurt you, if I chose to be Vulcan over a human?"

"Only if you chose to forget." _Only if you chose to abandon me._ He could hear the words that Jim meant so clearly he spared a glance at his best friend/Brother. "Then again, I could just play the annoying brother card and make sure you don't . . ." Humor to hide the pain that Spock knew was there. Jim hated being alone, but he hated being abandoned even more.

"We'll love you no matter what, Spock." Amanda smiled. He moved past both of them, well aware of the fact they moved together.

* * *

><p>Sarek sat stiffly, slightly surprised as T'Pau took a seat near him. The Matriarch of his clan was a formidable looking woman, even to a Vulcan. She didn't speak, simply looked at her padd for a moment, before blinking and turning her attention to the door.<p>

As his son came and stood before the council, Sarek listened to proceedings with half of his attention; the other half was on his son.

"- And despite the damage to mental barriers and your bonding with a human, you have shown no emotional compromise . . ." Sarek stiffened, feeling the slight agitation from not only his son, but also the elder next to him.

He felt the agitation as well. T'hy'la bonds only occurred when there was compatibility between two minds, the fact that this had happened to his son, despite his half human heritage, was not a detrimental thing- T'hy'la bonds could never be detrimental to the state of one of the bonded.

" . . . We accept you into the Vulcan Science Academy."

"I am honored to be accepted, but I respectfully decline." Sarek blinked, already having a feeling to where this would go.

His wife's 'intuition' seemed to be rubbing off on him.

"No Vulcan has ever refused acceptance to the Science Academy."

"As you have pointed out many times in your speech, I am Half-Vulcan, so your records would still be intact."

"What reason do you have for refusing, son of Sarek?" T'Pau spoke and the head of the Science Academy almost bit his tongue to keep from interrupting the elder.

"My mother and Father agreed to raise me as a full Vulcan. I am now at an age where I can decide for myself what path my life shall take." Sarek frowned internally, He didn't like where this was going, but knew full well he could not stop it- Spock was just as stubborn as his mother when she felt she was in the right. "Previously I attempted an experiment to see how I could interact with others and still retain my Vulcan identity, but that experiment was interrupted by events beyond anyone's control. I wish to continue the experiment at Starfleet. Therefore I must respectfully decline."

"Understood, Spock of Vulcan. The council will accept this." More than one Vulcan almost spoke, but refrained at T'Pau's quick glance. "May you find what you seek."

"Live long and Prosper, Elder T'Pau, Elders of the Council." His tone dropped on the last part, as he shot a look at the Academy head before he left the chambers. Sarek was still trying to figure out his son's logic in this decision.

"Elder T'Pau, Sarek, you cannot mean to allow this-."

"Spock is old enough to make his own decisions." T'Pau spoke, standing to pick up her padd. "It would be the height of illogic to force him to do otherwise. You must allow mistakes and errors to occur for a child to learn, and most will learn from their mistakes without having them pointed out to them. Those that do not must continue to make them until they learn." Sarek had the feeling he was the only one who caught the insult T'Pau had subtly included in that lecture, and it hadn't been to Spock. "I believe we have a short break before the next candidate?"

* * *

><p>Spock took a deep breath as he regained his center. It had been the logical thing to do- he had not missed the subtle insults about his mother, and especially the blatant one about Jim- refusing a place where he would constantly be looked down on for his mother and brother. He began walking back to where his mother and brother waited, locking back several emotions that he'd have to analyze later (perhaps with Jim's help?).<p>

They both moved forward to greet him, and he didn't miss the wariness in Jim's eyes- he'd been shielding even from his brother.

"Spock?"

"I was accepted." Spock saw his mother's happiness (genuine) and Jim's (false, but almost perfectly replicated). "But I declined." Jim's eyes lit up, going from wary to a bright energetic blue. Amanda smiled, approving just the same. "Neither of you are something to be ashamed of."

As they headed back to their dwelling, Spock lowered his shields on the bond and let Jim in, apologizing for keeping him out.

They had three days before their shuttle to earth would leave, Jim was already mostly packed- he didn't have much.

* * *

><p>Sarek entered later that night, in need of meditation and a discussion with his wife over what his son had decided. He found Jim in the parlor, reading a thick book of Shakespearean tragedies.<p>

"Where are the others?"

"_Ko-mekh_ took Spock to get a few things. They should be back before dark." Blue eyes looked at him warily. No matter how much time passed, Sarek noted that the wariness never left Jim's eyes when they were alone- it was not as blatant as it had once been, back when Jim first arrived, but there was still a trace of it lingering.

Sarek had spoken of this with his wife, the most logical answer they could come to was that Jim distrusted males due to possible abuse or neglect (both would make it difficult for James to trust him, he knew).

"I see." Sarek sat down. "I have an inquiry to make, if you would not be averse to answering?"

"I'm listening, _Sa-mekh_." Jim put the book down, curiosity overshadowing the wariness.

"Is Spock displeased with me?" That had not been the question he meant to ask, but it had slipped out despite his own control of his emotions.

"No." Jim tilted his head. "He made his decision in the council chamber, I did not influence his decision, either, and he was blocking me for several days prior to the meeting." Sarek was surprised to hear the answer to the question he had meant to ask as well.

"How did you know that was what I was thinking, James?" Sarek raised an eyebrow as he asked.

"I guessed. You're upset about Spock's decision, I can tell it in your face."

"I am not upset." A statement, neither short nor abrupt, but Jim still shifted slightly, as if Sarek had shouted at him.

"Confused, then." Blue eyes glittered, and Sarek could see the young human's amusement- it was in moments similar to this where Sarek would wonder if his wife and his adopted son weren't related in some way, they both shared that look when they'd managed to stump the Vulcans they lived with. "Spock explained his reasoning in the council chambers, I think you were expecting him to continue on with living a Vulcan lifestyle that you forgot other variables . . . such as his curiosity of his human side."

" . . ." How, exactly, did this young human know so much just by looking at Sarek? His intuition was rather strange at times, bordering on psychic in a way, but the medical file said he was psi-null. Sarek contemplated what was just said. He had thought that after his experience on Tarsus IV, Spock would cling to logic and see how damaging emotions could be to a Vulcan and those around him. It was foolish, in a way, but Sarek had already lost one son to emotionalism, he had not wanted to lose another- and Spock had never gone against his decisions in the past.

Perhaps he was putting his own feelings and decisions onto Spock without realizing this (no wonder Amanda had so much fun teasing him about this, if he had truly been blind to the way he was acting). He was brought out of his thoughts by Jim setting a tea cup in front of him. He had fallen into a light meditation without realizing it.

"I did not mean to ignore you, _Sa-fu_."

"You have a lot on your mind, _Sa-mekh_, its better that you sort it out now." Jim sat down. Sarek studied him for a moment. That sentence sounded similar to what his wife would say than the young human. Sarek filed away that piece of information before standing and taking the cup.

"Indeed, I will be in my study, if you could send Amanda in when she arrives?" Jim nodded, and Sarek settled down to meditate.

James was human, on a planet not his own. It would be logical for him to seek a way to acclimate himself into the foreign culture by copying another human that had acclimated to the culture.

Spock was trying the same, following James' lead into an unexplored aspect of his life. The first time had been invalidated by fear, hunger, and pain. Spock had always been curious about everything, including other cultures.

Did he think Spock would end up like Sybok? Is that why he pushed Spock towards the Science academy?

The answer was yes, unfortunately. The most logical way to ensure that Spock did not follow his brother's footsteps was by promoting the Vulcan logical way of life over the Human's emotional one. Spock wasn't rejecting logic, though . . . he was, as Amanda had once put it, 'simply seeking his own place in the universe'.

And it appeared that that place was with James T. Kirk. Sarek opened his eyes and looked at where his desk was neatly covered in padds and papers. Among them were records of Tarsus IV. There was no way to completely cover up what had happened on that planet, but he and Admiral Archer had been able to protect the children from over eager reporters, a simple legal seal on the list of children survivors (encoded and encrypted so that no one could hack it) which would keep their names out of the database for about ten years for most of them, in particular those that were younger than 13. For those older than that, the seal would only last until they turned eighteen, the legal age of the Federation. They simply hadn't been able to do better than that in the short amount of time between the discovery of what had happened on that planet and the leak to the press. Sarek had been able to use his influence to seal his son's name for ten years, but Archer had been unable to do the same for James. Hopefully, by the time the seal lifted off their names, no one would be looking for Tarsus IV survivors to get a sound bite about it.

Earth will be safe for them, Archer had already been told about their enlistment, and he would keep an eye on them.

Sarek just hoped Amanda would be able to tolerate the distance.

* * *

><p><strong>Phew . . . Okay, before I give anymore notes on the story, just one quick note- watch the TOS episode Cat's paw (some websites have it Catspaw). Spock is really amusing in it, and it's a very good trio episode to watch, just for their interactions. Unfortunately, it is also before Chekov's hair was decided on, and he looks like someone gave him an electric shock, so that's a bit distracting, but it's pretty good, nonetheless.<strong>

**Alright, next chapter will have the formation of the trio- Spock and Jim's induction into Starfleet is covered a bit more in the sequel, but you'll get the bare bones of it from the next chapter anyway.**

**Further information of the sequel will also be in the next chapter.**

**Thanks to all who have reviewed this story, which is not nearly as many as the people that Favorite-ed or Alert-ed it. (I can't even complain, because I'm guilty of doing the same on stories I like)**


	11. Part 3

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this on the last chapter? I mean, C'mon! You should know this by now!**

**Note: I don't know McCoy's wife's name for sure, but a lot of places have it as Jocelyn. This is the name I'm going to use. If it's wrong, please tell me so I can edit it.**

"_Foreign Earth language translated to Standard._"

"**Alien Language translated to standard**."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'_Telepathic speech._'

_Thoughts._

"Occasionally, _a foreign/alien word_ will be in a sentence."

* * *

><p>"Many a person has held close, throughout their entire lives, two friends that always remained strange to one another, because one of them attracted by virtue of similarity, the other by difference." ~Emil Ludwig<p>

* * *

><p>In Need and Deed- 3<p>

He'd moved to San Francisco to try and make his wife happy. He'd turned down the offer several times before, to go and work at Starfleet medical, but Jocelyn had needled and whittled him down until he accepted.

_"Son, there are a lot of crazy places just on earth, no need to go to the stars."_ Had been something his father had told him multiple times growing up. In McCoy's opinion, San Francisco was one of those places. Who the hell built a city on a fault line anyway? And who was crazy enough to live in said city? (He was here under protest, he didn't count.)

Leonard H. McCoy was a doctor, not a xeno-medicine researcher. He'd been happy in Georgia as a country doctor, but Jocelyn hadn't been. He'd thought she'd settled down from the grandiose dreams she'd had as a child, of parties and other things, but it seemed like it had just gotten worse over time.

"Oh, this will be so interesting, what should I wear?" He listened as she rattled off the list of things that other people could be wearing, and how she had to be better dressed than a woman he thought she was friends with, with a mix of fondness and exasperation.

"Honey, it's just a simple dinner party . . ." He got ignored.

The dinner party was at a castle-like mansion that belonged to an admiral (who's name McCoy could barely remember). There were a few men in dress uniform, and several in tuxes intermingling with a few just wearing dinner jackets and going open at the neck. (Which is how McCoy would have preferred to go, if his wife hadn't picked out a tux- why the hell were these monkey suits so uncomfortable and expensive?)

Jocelyn had instantly gone off to gossip with the women after they greeted their host, and McCoy was trying to count how many men were there in uniform vs. men in tuxes from his spot by the drinks. (If he had to deal with this, it wouldn't be completely sober)

Cue meeting that would start to change his life- not that he knew it at the time.

"Anyone sitting here?" McCoy raised his eyebrow at the blond haired, blue eyed kid that was in a dress uniform for a lieutenant (or was it Lieutenant Commander? McCoy didn't really care.).

"No, go right ahead." The boy sat down and sighed. "What's a kid like you doing here?"

"My brother was invited, he brought me as his guest, and I'm starting to wish I had said no. How about you?"

"I'm a civilian contract with Starfleet Medical Research, I have no clue why I was invited, but my wife's enjoying herself." McCoy gestured to where Jocelyn was giggling with a few other women. "I've been wishing I had said no since I agreed to this shindig. Half these people are waiting to pick my bones clean" He grumbled. All he wanted was a nice night at home with his wife. His companion laughed.

"I can't blame you. You're an MD, then?"

"Yeah, Dr. Leonard McCoy." He held out his hand. The kid's eyes practically glowed blue with an ill-concealed energy.

"Lieutenant James Kirk, but please call me Jim." They shook, and McCoy recognized the name. He just chose not to comment on it.

"Lieutenant, huh? You look pretty young to be a Lieutenant."

"I'm twenty, been in Starfleet since I was sixteen." There was a slight hint of steel to the kid's voice, something no kid should have, even if they were twenty.

"To each his own, kid, I'm keeping my feet firmly on the ground." McCoy saw the kid relax. They had a rather enjoyable discussion complaining about the dinner party and why it was annoying, and somehow or another, it got back to McCoy's feelings on space adventure and flight. "Look Kid, if man were meant to fly, we would've had wings."

"Illogical, as humans have the mental capacity to create the machines for flight." A Vulcan had approached, also in a Lieutenant Starfleet uniform. "We've been instructed to move into the dining area."

"Alright Spock- Oh, Dr. McCoy, this is Lieutenant Spock, my brother, Spock, this is Dr. McCoy. He's a civilian contract."

"I have heard the Doctor's name before." The Vulcan gave him a nod. McCoy remembered that they were touch telepaths, and so just returned the nod.

"I wish I could say the same . . . wait, how are you two related?" McCoy did a double take.

"My family has 'adopted' Jim, to use the terran phrase. As humans go he is a fairly logical one."

"What's logic got to do with a Vulcan adopting a human?" They began to walk, McCoy unconsciously keeping Jim between him and Spock.

McCoy was not xenophobic, despite his deep distrust of space and flying. He was aware that when he was frustrated or worried he would voice complaints over the differences in Biology between aliens and humans, but he'd never not try to do his job as a doctor.

What he simply didn't like, was the psychic abilities that some aliens had- or their manipulation abilities, in the case of Orions. He didn't like the idea of someone messing with his head or body. He was aware that Vulcans made a big deal out of not invading someone's privacy, but he was still wary. (This was again, why he was a Doctor, not a diplomat or an adventure seeker.)

"I needed a place to stay, they had space to spare." Jim said with a grin. They separated to sit at their tables, and McCoy was unable to speak to them the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>It was roughly two weeks later while he was working at the hospital that he saw them again, this time with a much more serious problem.<p>

Jim had had an allergic reaction to cold medicine. (Cold medicine! Of all things . . .) McCoy was Doctor on duty, and Spock was right there with his adopted brother. Jim then had an allergic reaction to the medication to counteract the cold medicine and McCoy spent several hours snarling at nurses as he struggled to figure out what the hell was _wrong_ with this kid.

His mood did not improve when he discovered that Jim did not have a personal physician that he could call for answers. When he finally got the kid breathing and out of danger, he was all but growling as he sat next to the kid's bed and went through the (long) medical file. Spock the Vulcan sat on the other side, gripping Jim's wrist and looking completely stoic.

"I'm amazed he doesn't have any food allergies!" McCoy growled, dropping the padd on the bed. "And you never thought to have a personal physician for either of you?"

"One Doctor would be as good as another, Starfleet does not allow any type of inefficiency in their personnel." The Vulcan replied. McCoy rubbed his eyes.

"Lord give me strength- a personal physician would know, _in detail_, what Jim could and could not take, without wasting precious time going through his extensive medical file." The Vulcan glanced down at Jim. "I could've called them and known what to give and what not to give, dammit."

"I see, then I was in error." Something shifted in that blank mask, as the Vulcan looked down at Jim. McCoy had a pretty good feeling of what it was.

"I thought Vulcans didn't do emotion, but you're really worried about him, aren't you?"

"We have emotions, I do not believe it possible for any sentient being to not have them, but we are in control of them. They do not rule our every moment." Spock answered.

"But they influence you, surely."

" . . . I do not have sufficient data to give an answer." Spock stood suddenly, releasing Jim's wrist. "Jim is stable, I must go and fulfill my own duties at this time." McCoy didn't stop him.

When his shift was over, McCoy returned to sit with Jim for a bit longer (Jocelyn was out with friends- they'd both be late getting home) and returned his attention to the padd. This time, he also looked up Spock's Medical records . . . and began looking up information on Vulcans.

Since its creation in the 20th century, the internet has held a wealth of information for those able to shift through the amount of data to find what they want, often having to deal with misinformation and rumors that were posted as fact.

In the 23rd century, unfortunately, there were still a lot of errors and rather whimsical theories about aliens and their cultures. Especially on Vulcans.

McCoy desperately wished he could erase some of the words out of his head. As it was, he thought he was going to be sick- honestly, the things some people came up with.

What he did manage to find out (that was actual fact), was that Vulcan telepathy required skin to skin contact of any kind, as well as the Vulcan had to let down their own mental barriers to read thoughts- the most they could get through accidental skin contact were whispers of emotions if they had poor shields or nothing at all if they had strong ones. Their hands were not the most sensitive places, they were actually the second most. (Vulcan faces were actually the most sensitive, as they held the main psi-points). Vulcan telepathy also required consent from the other party, as even the most psi-null being had their own innate mental barriers that protected their secrets.

However, Vulcans did allow contact between themselves and those close to them. They had family bonds, which were telepathic bonds that connected them to family and allowed them to monitor each other (these bonds were weak compared to Betazoid bonds, who could feel each other's thoughts- Vulcan's only got whether or not the other was living, and occasionally their emotional states).

Which, McCoy thought, explained why Spock had been holding Jim's wrist- he needed a way to monitor his 'brother's' state. He glanced down at the still sleeping blond. Both files were extensive- Spock was a half Vulcan, not a full Vulcan, and Jim had a list of injuries a mile long.

And he didn't even have a doctor who could patch him up.

McCoy went home to Jocelyn, spent half the night thinking about the two strangers that really had nothing to do with his life (one who he'd gotten along with based on the dislike of pomp and circumstance of a dinner party, the other a logical hobgoblin that just set his teeth on edge for some reason) and in the morning when he went in to check, shoved a padd at Jim before the nurse could give him his discharge papers.

"I'm going to regret this, but sign it." He saw Spock arch an eyebrow. "Both of you."

"What is it?" Jim looked at the padd confused.

"It makes me your personal physician. With your screwed up system, you need it." Jim nodded and signed it, looking amused.

"I doubt you have the required background to become a Vulcan's physician, Doctor." Spock stared at the padd as if it would bite him.

"I can learn." McCoy growled. "I'll need your help with Jim, anyway." They both ignored Jim's wounded 'Hey!'. The stare off that followed unnerved the poor nurse who held her padd tightly.

Spock finally inclined his head, and signed the padd. McCoy smiled.

"Good, when can I see you again to go over the rest of the paperwork?" Ignoring Jim (who was now protesting the entire thing) Spock and McCoy made an appointment. He'd known that Jim would be a difficult patient (several doctors had noted this on the kid's file) and he knew how to deal with difficult patients. Basically, you never let them pull away.

That night, McCoy found out that he was going to be a dad.

* * *

><p>The following nine months included keeping an eye on Jim and Spock, who were slowly becoming more than just patients, (he found himself going out to drink with them, which always ended with him arguing with the hobgoblin over something and Jim laughing at the two of them with whichever waitress he had charmed that evening) and fussing over Jocelyn. They were quite possibly the best ten months (counting the first month baby Joanna was home) that he had ever had.<p>

And that was even considering the fact he found out about Tarsus IV. He'd been sickened, and had almost dragged both of them to his office where he'd hidden some bourbon so they could drink and talk. He was relieved they'd been able to recover as much as they had, but this explained their strange dynamic, why Spock, despite being 3 years older, followed Jim's ideas. In the end, he settled for instructing them to either follow a diet, get nutritional supplements, or vitamin hyposprays. They'd both looked at him in confusion, but he hadn't pressed the issue any farther than 'If you want to talk about it to me, my door's open. If not, I won't bring it up.'

Which was probably why the two did open up, though Jim was more hesitant than Spock. There was alcohol and chocolate liquor involved, and McCoy figured out why Spock clung to logic and Jim could be a right bastard at times, pushing people away (except for McCoy, who pushed right back). It made perfect sense when he saw it.

However, McCoy didn't see his marriage dissolve after that until it was far too late to fix. Jocelyn left both him and Joanna, lured away by a man who promised her bigger and better things than a doctor could give, even one that had a contract with Starfleet. It hurt, but he wasn't going to leave Joanna by drinking away his pain.

* * *

><p>Roughly a month after the divorce, Jim Kirk showed up at his door, looking a little tired. "Hey, Bones." (He still has no clue when and why Jim decided to start calling him that, Jim's answer always varied between their first conversation or some other moment or factoid). Jim didn't even wait for an invite, he just slipped in, looking as exhausted as McCoy felt.<p>

"What do you want kid?" McCoy didn't try to kick the kid out- the last time this happened, Jim had talked McCoy into letting him stay.

"Joanna asleep?"

"Yes."

"Had a bad day. You heard I've been assigned to the _Farragut_?" Jim flopped bonelessly onto his couch, and McCoy almost heard Jocelyn's voice yelling at Jim to get his feet off the couch.

"No, congratulations?"

"Spock's on the _Yorktown_." McCoy frowned. "We're both shipping out in a month."

McCoy had acted as their psychologist and sometimes their conscience during their many visits to his office. Jim had treated him as a friend from the get-go, while Spock was slightly reserved. He'd discovered that both of them could be really cold blooded when it came to doing things, Jim was all instinct and intuition, if he wanted something done, he'd get it done, never mind who it hurt, and he was willing to manipulate others to that goal; Spock was all logic and intelligence, he treated people (the exception being Jim) like numbers. Over time, the two had opened up to him and listened, coming to him for advice and ideas- though he and Spock found themselves arguing more than anything. Unlike with Jocelyn, though, this arguing actually made him feel better, even if he didn't always win.

"What do you want, Jim?"

"Your civilian Contract is up soon, isn't it?"

"A couple of months." And suddenly, McCoy had an idea of what Jim was looking for. "I'm staying in San Francisco, Jim." It would be too difficult to move back to Georgia right now.

"They're going to offer you a research grant." McCoy blinked. "But the fine print is you'll have to enlist." And 'they' would be the people that seemed not to care he was a single father. Even if he got the choice, he wouldn't be able to spend much time with Joanna.

"Why are you telling me?" Jim gave him a wry, tired smile.

"I'm your friend, don't want you backed into a corner. It's not fun." McCoy frowned and reached out to check his friend's forehead. Jim let him. "Bones, do you actually have any other job offers you can take?" He didn't. Not right away, he'd have to test to make sure he was able to work in a civilian hospital, it would take a while to open his own practice (again, his first had been liquidated by the evil harpy (Jim's words for Jocelyn) in the divorce).

All he had was Joanna and some money. Starfleet would be his best option. He could get a job on earth, at least.

"Don't worry about me kid-"

"I'm more worried about Joanna!" Jim retorted, then suddenly stiffened. McCoy paused.

Jim's dad had died in Starfleet. His mother had been absent, (she still worked in Starfleet somewhere), leaving him on his own (Winona had tried, Jim had admitted, but she'd stopped trying when he was nine). Jim cared enough about him and Joanna to try and stop the same thing happen to them. It was amusing and . . . touching, in a way. It took awhile to talk it through, (Jim had just returned from a visit to Riverside that had gone okay; 'okay' being he didn't see his mother and his step-dad had actually spoken to him without either two getting angry; and Jim had needed to discuss it) and then Spock was there to collect Jim.

* * *

><p>When the contract was up, McCoy enlisted in Starfleet. There was a network of people that would help single parents, and he took advantage of that. He didn't tell Jim, though, or Spock.<p>

The _Yorktown_ was the first to return, limping slightly and with several crew injured. It had been her last voyage before she was retired and everyone knew that her Captain, Christopher Pike, had been selected to take the new (read: still being built) ship the _Enterprise._ Her crew would be stationed in the academy or other ships until the _Enterprise_ was ready.

McCoy had a huge surge of illogical pleasure at Spock's raising of both eyebrows when he saw him in the hospital, wearing the Starfleet medical uniform.

"I did not think you would enlist, given your propensity for illogical actions."

"Thank you Spock, I thought it was a good idea as well. Someone was needed to keep an eye on you and Jim."

"Jim is the one who you should be more concerned with." Spock retorted.

"No argument there."

The _Farragut_ came a month later than her original return date, and the entire campus was stirred into a frenzy of news. 200 of the crew had died, including the Captain and First Officer, and several of the survivors were on life support from blood loss. Jim, of course, was one of them. It took a month to get him back on his feet. Spock and Bones, barely tolerating each other, stuck right by him.

Bones could never figure out exactly when the three of them became friends, but they had. And he didn't mind it one bit.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, there you go, how the trio formed in my nice little Alternate universe. Bones is quite possibly my absolute fav character, right before Scotty. For one good reason- he's like a grouchy teddy bear. How could you not like that? That, and he's from georgia- where I was born and raised!<strong>

**Bones's compulsion to look after Jim and Spock isn't a completely me decision; in Star Trek IV, when they're in a hospital looking for Chekov, Bones is constantly stopping and checking on all the patients and treating them. Given that personality of helping those in need, He iniatlly signed on to be their chief physcian out of that personality quirk- they don't become friends until some time's gone by.**

**Jim's rising pretty rapidly through the ranks, here's (roughly) the timeline for him:**

**16- Join Starfleet**

**18/19- graduates after 2 ½ years, makes lieutenant**

**21- Lieutenant commander**

**22/23- attack on **_**Farragut**_**.**

**For Spock (Who's 3 years older than Jim):**

**19- Join Starfleet**

**21/22- graduates after 2 ½ years, Lieutenant**

**24- Lieutenant Commander**

**25- Becomes Science Officer for Pike after **_**Yorktown**_** is decommissioned**

**For Bones (remember, he's 6 years older than Jim):**

**26- Meets Jim and Spock**

**27- Joanna Born**

**28- Joins Starfleet**

**Now, for the sequel- each chapter (or part, some characters may have more than one chapter) will be in a character's point of view, with the last three chapters being devoted to the trio.**

**Events of the movie will be covered, as well as how the characters first met each other (it will not focus on their meeting trio exclusively, it will include things like the first time Uhura met Chekov, etc). The sequel will be a CHARACTER driven story- action will be secondary to the thoughts of the characters. If you have a problem with me focusing on character development, don't read.**

**Also- I will NOT be doing any pairings, meaning no slash and Uhura will not be paired with anyone. She's a strong character in her own right, she does not need to be paired with anyone to add anything to her character (That's the biggest issue I had with the 2009 movie Uhura, on that note, TOS Uhura I liked because she never actually paired with anyone). As stated before, I'm focusing on character friendships and personalities, not who's shagging who- you want that, find another story. **

**I am trying to keep myself from writing long stories (I have two long stories already in the works, doing anymore would be impractical) however I do have several short stories/one shots already planned in this AU of mine, so don't worry, you'll get to see more of this AU even after the sequel is done.**

**That said, first Chapter of the Sequel, Title: True Friendship, is up.**


End file.
